A 19-YEAR-OLD professional cricketer jailed for match fixing has been moved from Feltham Young Offenders Institution to a 'safer' prison, according to reports.

Mohammad Amir was one of three Pakistani players paid to deliberately bowl 'no balls' during a test match against England at Lords in August 2010.

Amir admitted conspiracy to cheat and conspiracy to obtain and accept corrupt payments at a hearing in September and was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court last Thursday (November 3).

He was jailed for six month and was told he would serve his sentence at Feltham Young Offenders Institution.

Reports this week, however, suggest the bowler has now been moved to Her Majesty's Prison Portland in Weymouth, Dorset, because of the Feltham institution's bad reputation and history of violence and racism.

The Ministry of Justice has refused to confirm the move, saying it could not comment on individual cases, but Feltham and Heston MP Alan Keen believes the situation raises concerns generally about the safety of inmates.

He said: "I understand Mohammad Amir has been moved from Feltham Young Offenders Institution because of worries about his safety.

"This raises serious questions for the Ministry of Justice because the safety and security of prisoners in Feltham must be paramount.

"It is important to acknowledge the hard work of the prison officers who operate in very challenging conditions and I hope the Ministry of Justice can provide assurances that all is being done to punish those responsible and bring about the reform needed.

"I would like to add that the Feltham Young Offenders Institution is not representative of Feltham and what goes on in the Young Offenders Institution has no impact on the local community.”

There were mixed opinions from Feltham residents on how the case has been handled.

Theresa Williams said: "I've lived in Feltham for 25 years and the young offenders institution has always been here.

"It has got a reputation, but there are lots of places where incidents happen and I think that is more to do with the society we live in today rather than it being particularly bad.

"Being famous he would have been picked on and targeted so I do think it was right that he was moved."

Kenneth Buddry, 84, disagreed, however, saying: "It doesn't matter who he is. I'm not interested in whether he's famous or even if he's royalty - just if he deserves it or not.

"We're all human being's, after all, and if you do something wrong, you should just put up with the punishment you get.

"I've got a friend who works down there and I didn't think it had a particularly bad reputation. I know there were one or two things that happened, but I don't think it's too bad."

Another resident, who asked not to be named said: "I suppose you never really know what goes on behind closed doors. It's got a reputation that isn't good, but it probably isn't much worse than other places.

"I'm not sure how the system works, but if he's with proper criminals, like muggers and drug dealers, he probably needs to be protected from that."