Prison guard protests in Flemish prisons are gaining pace. Protests were already underway in six Flemish penitentiaries including Bruges and Antwerp. At the weekend prison staff in Ghent and Oudenaarde also joined the protest. Eight of the eighteen penitentiaries in northern Belgium are today refusing to accept new prisoners. The action is a protest against prison overcrowding. Prison guards want the matter sorted. Talks at the office of Belgian justice minister Paul Van Tigchelt (Flemish liberal) this morning failed to solve the dispute.