Soham murderer Ian Huntley is close to death after having been taken off life support following an attack in prison, the BBC understands.

The 52-year-old has been in hospital since 26 February after being battered over the head with a makeshift weapon at HMP Frankland in County Durham.

The high security jail houses some of the most violent inmates.

Prison sources said Huntley was found lying in a pool of blood after the attack.

He suffered significant head trauma from his injuries.

A school caretaker in the Cambridgeshire commuter town, Huntley committed one of the most shocking child murders of the century.

Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman had been at a family barbecue in August 2002.

It's believed they were on their way to buy sweets when Huntley, then aged 28, lured them back to his home and killed them.

Having been kept on life support in hospital, it was turned off on Friday, according to prison sources.

This was not the first time he had been attacked at HMP Frankland.

In 2010, he was slashed across the throat and needed 21 stitches.

The prison is nicknamed monster mansion due to its extreme levels of violence.

It houses some of the most dangerous criminals including murderers and rapists.

Huntley was also attacked in 2005 by a convicted murderer who chucked boiling water over him at HMP Wakefield.

The photo of the girls he killed – in their red Manchester United football kits – is etched in the minds of many who vividly remember their disappearance and murder.

It was taken by Holly's mum Nicola just an hour and a half before they were last seen.

It dominated news reports at the time as a nationwide search for them took place.

About 400 officers worked full-time on the case.

Hundreds more volunteers joined the search but nearly a fortnight after they disappeared, the girls' bodies were found in a ditch in Suffolk.

Huntley was arrested the same day.

He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to a minimum of 40 years for the double murders, with the judge saying "in your lies and manipulation up to this very day, you have increased the suffering you have caused the two families"

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