Ian Huntley has suffered head injuries in an assault in prison this morning, with the suspect identified by police.
The Soham murderer, 52, was taken to hospital after being found in a pool of blood following an alleged attack by an unknown inmate, Sky News understands.
A spokesman for Durham Constabulary 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.”
A North East Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We received a call at 9.23am on Thursday 26 February 2026 to reports of an incident at HM Prison Frankland in County Durham.
“We dispatched two ambulance crews to the scene and requested support from the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS). One patient was transported to hospital by road.”
In a statement, 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.”
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Huntley was convicted of the murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham, Cambridgeshire, in 2002 and is serving a life sentence with a minimum of 40 years at HMP Frankland in County Durham.
The latest incident is not the first time Huntley has been attacked at HMP Frankland.
In 2011, an inmate who slashed Huntley’s throat with a makeshift knife was jailed for life.
Damien Fowkes was sentenced to a minimum of 20 years for the attempted murder of Huntley in March 2010 and the manslaughter of child killer Colin Hatch.
Fowkes inflicted a wound seven inches long on the Soham murderer’s neck and the court was told it was only “good fortune” that the weapon missed anything vital.
The disappearance and murders of the two 10-year-old schoolgirls captured the attention of the nation in 2002.
Huntley killed them in August of that year after they left a family barbecue to buy sweets, and then dumped their bodies in a ditch.
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He was their school caretaker and put himself forward as a volunteer to help search for them after they went missing – and was interviewed by reporters on camera.
The efforts to locate the girls in the 13 days after they disappeared have been described as one of the most intense and extensive in British criminal history.
Huntley was convicted of the murder of both girls in December 2003 and sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment.
His girlfriend, Maxine Carr – the girls’ teaching assistant – had knowingly provided Huntley with a false alibi.
She received a three-and-a-half year prison sentence for conspiring with Huntley to pervert the course of justice.
