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Soham killer Ian Huntley’s condition remains serious three days after he was attacked with a metal bar by a fellow inmate at HMP Frankland.
Soham killer Ian Huntley was left seriously injured by a fellow inmate after he was attacked in the workshop of a maximum-security jail by an inmate with a metal bar.
Huntley's mother Lynda has told friends he is "unrecognisable" due to his injuries.
Inmates are said to have known "the attack was coming" and talked about it the night before, according to The Sun.
On Sunday morning, Durham Constabulary said there had been no change in his condition, as Huntley marked his third day in hospital.
An insider told the outlet: “The attack was unbelievably savage – more savage than has so far been reported.
“It is astonishing that Huntley is still alive. He was bending down tying some string onto a recycling crate when he was first hit – so was in a position like you’d be in when tying your shoelaces."
A spokesperson said: “The 52-year-old man remains in hospital in a serious condition, there have been no changes overnight.”
Former school caretaker Huntley killed 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman after they left a family barbecue to buy sweets in Soham, Cambridgeshire, on 4 August 2002, then dumped their bodies in a ditch.
Twisted triple murderer who 'bludgeoned' child killer Ian Huntley in prison attack
According to reports, triple killer Anthony Russell allegedly shouted “I’ve done it, I’ve done it” after Huntley was repeatedly smashed over the head with the makeshift weapon at HMP Frankland, Durham, on Thursday morning.
The force declined to identify the suspect but said on Thursday that a man in his mid-40s had been detained at the prison but had not yet been arrested.
Anthony Russell was sentenced to a whole life tariff in 2021 for the murders of Julie Williams, 58, and her son David Williams, 32, at separate flats in Coventry, and pregnant 31-year-old Nicole McGregor, who was found in woodland near Leamington Spa three days later.
Russell was also convicted of the rape of Ms McGregor.
Thursday’s assault was the latest attempt on Huntley’s life and he was thought to have been kept under close observation to prevent similar attacks.
In 2010, robber Damien Fowkes slashed him with a home-made weapon, causing a “severe, gaping cut to the left side of his neck” with a 7in (18cm) wound which required 21 stitches.
Fowkes asked a prison officer: “Is he dead? I hope so.”
He described Huntley as a “notorious child killer, both inside prison and in society in general”.
In 2005, convicted murderer Mark Hobson was placed in solitary confinement for three months after throwing boiling water over Huntley in Wakefield Prison.
Huntley is serving a life sentence with a recommendation that he serve at least 40 years for the Soham murders.