Ian Huntley found 'lying in a pool of blood' after brutal prison attack leaves child killer fighting for his life
The murderer, 52, was left fighting for his life after being bludgeoned by another inmate at HMP Frankland in County Durham at around 9am on Thursday
Child killer Ian Huntley was left 'lying in a pool of blood' after being battered unconscious in a brutal jail attack.
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The murderer, 52, was left fighting for his life after being bludgeoned by another inmate at HMP Frankland in County Durham at around 9am on Thursday.
Sources told The Sun that Huntely was air-lifted to hospital from his prison wing at around 9am and his condition was "touch and go”.
Read more: Woman jailed after sleeping next to partner's decomposing body
A spokesman for Durham Constabulary said this evening that a prisoner in his mid-40s has been identified as a suspect and remains in detention within HMP Frankland.
The force said: "The 52-year-old prisoner who was injured during this morning's assault in the workshop at HMP Frankland remains in a serious condition in hospital following treatment for head injuries.
"Police forensic teams have examined the scene of the attack throughout the day to gather evidence.
"A suspect, a male prisoner in his mid-40s, has been identified by officers investigating the incident. He has not been arrested at this stage but remains in detention within the prison."
Huntley's beating comes after former Lostprophets singer and child sex offender Ian Watkins was killed in an attack at Wakefield Prison last October.
He has been attacked behind bars at least three times since he was sentence to serve life for the murders of 10-year-old girls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002.
Huntley, one of Britain’s most infamous killers, is housed in the high-security prison alongside Sarah Everard’s murderer Wayne Couzens, serial killer Levi Bellfield and Facebook Killer Peter Chapman.
In 2018, a violent convict tried to slit Huntley's throat, eight years after armed robber Damien Fowkes slashed his throat and put him in hospital.
Murderer Mark Hobson also threw boiling water over him in Wakefield Prison in 2005.
Discussing the latest attack, a Prison Service spokesperson said: "A prisoner is receiving treatment after an incident at HMP Frankland on Thursday morning.
"It would be inappropriate to comment further while police investigate."
A spokesman for Durham Constabulary said: "Police were alerted to an assault which had taken place within HMP Frankland in Durham this morning.
"A male prisoner suffered serious injuries during the incident and was transported to hospital.
"A police investigation is now under way into the circumstances of the incident and detectives are liaising with staff at the prison."
School friends Holly and Jessica vanished after leaving a family barbecue in Soham, Cambridgeshire, to go and buy some sweets.
They were lured into the home of school caretaker Huntley, who murdered them before disposing of their bodies in a ditch.
Following a widespread police search, their bodies were found a week later near an airbase, 12 miles from Soham.
Suspicions were raised about Huntley after he gave detailed interviews to the press about the girls, and he appeared to take an unusual interest in the case.
His chilling responses to questions led journalists to raise concerns to the police.
Huntley was convicted in 2003 after pleading not guilty.
His then fiancee Maxine Carr, a teaching assistant at Holly and Jessica's school in the Cambridgeshire town, was given a three-and-a-half year sentence for perverting the course of justice when giving Huntley a false alibi.
She infamously turned on Huntley as he sat in the dock during his murder trial, describing him as “that thing in the box”.
She was granted a lifelong anonymity order in 2005, which protects her new identity indefinitely.