Soham murderer Ian Huntley seriously injured in prison attack — ian huntley treated for head injuries
ian huntley, the 52-year-old serving a life sentence for the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, is being treated for serious head injuries after an assault by another inmate at HMP Frankland in County Durham. Prison and police statements say the injured prisoner was taken to hospital on Thursday morning and detectives have opened an investigation.
Attack and immediate response
Prison staff moved a prisoner from HMP Frankland, a high-security facility in County Durham, to hospital on Thursday morning after an assault in a prison workshop. An air ambulance was dispatched to the site but the North East Ambulance Service spokesperson said the injured inmate was taken to hospital by road. A North East Ambulance Service statement 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. One patient was transported to hospital by road. " A separate account said the prisoner was discovered in his cell at around 9am this morning lying in a pool of blood.
Ian Huntley injuries and transport
Officials identified the injured man as a prisoner understood to be the Soham double murderer. The 52-year-old is serving a life sentence for murdering the two schoolgirls. One newspaper first reported that Huntley was beaten with a metal pole, and it is thought he was knocked unconscious with a metal pole; the paper his condition was "touch and go". Prison Service comments confirmed a prisoner was receiving treatment after the incident and said it would be inappropriate to comment further while police investigate.
Police statements and detention
Durham Constabulary confirmed detectives are investigating and liaising with prison staff. A Durham police spokesman said: "Police were alerted to an assault which had taken place within HMP Frankland in Durham this morning. " He added: "A male prisoner suffered serious injuries during the incident and was transported to hospital. " The force also said a male prisoner in his mid-40s suspected of carrying out the attack was "in detention" but had not been arrested "at this stage".
History of the 2002 murders
Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, both aged 10, went missing from Soham, Cambridgeshire, on 4 August 2002 after leaving a family barbecue to buy sweets. The girls were missing for 13 days during a search that became one of the most intensive in British criminal history; a total of 400 police officers were assigned full-time to the case, and investigators questioned every registered sex offender in Cambridgeshire and neighbouring Lincolnshire. Two weeks after they disappeared the bodies of Holly and Jessica were found in a ditch near an air base in Lakenheath, Suffolk.
Prosecution, evidence and earlier accounts
Huntley, originally from Grimsby and a caretaker at Soham Village College, enticed the schoolgirls into his home, murdered them and dumped their bodies in a ditch some 12 miles away. He became a suspect after claiming to have had a conversation with the children shortly after they were last seen; his agitated demeanour and questions about how long DNA evidence would last caused officers to become suspicious. Initially he was given an alibi by his then partner, Maxine Carr, a teaching assistant the girls knew, but that alibi broke down under police questioning. Officers later found at his workplace charred pieces of the Manchester United shirts the girls had been wearing when they disappeared and other evidence connecting him to the crime. He was arrested and charged, and is serving a life sentence for their murders; Carr served half of a 42-month sentence for perverting the course of justice.
Trial descriptions and defence claim
At his trial at the Old Bailey, prosecutor Richard Latham QC described Huntley as "ruthless" and said Huntley's account of both deaths were "desperate lies". In his evidence Huntley claimed Holly died accidentally after falling into his bath when he was helping her with a nosebleed.
Former inmate’s account of Frankland
A former prisoner who served time at Frankland described the jail as violent and recounted seeing extreme assaults and riots. He said his first impression was the phrase "WELCOME TO HELL" inscribed inside the holding cell in reception and described witnessing assaults, including incidents in which hot oil was used, stabbings in the neck and other brutal attacks. He said the VP wing, which holds paedophiles and notorious killers, was often home to the most severe violence, and that the prison holds around 800 inmates, many of whom will never be released. The prison has previously held several notorious inmates and violent incidents have occurred there, including an April last year episode in which three prison officers were taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries, including burns and stab wounds, after an inmate allegedly attacked them with hot cooking oil and homemade weapons; that inmate was identified in the account as Hashem Abedi, the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi.
Durham Constabulary said detectives are continuing their inquiries into the circumstances of the assault at HMP Frankland.
ian huntley remains in hospital receiving treatment while the police investigation continues.
