© Tom Blewitt & Zack Griffiths – Predator Awareness

The life support machine keeping Soham killer Ian Huntley alive has been turned off after the convicted murderer suffered catastrophic injuries in a brutal prison attack. Reports claim the 52-year-old is now just hours from death after doctors withdrew the ventilator that had been sustaining his life.

Huntley was attacked last week inside HMP Frankland, a high-security Category A prison in County Durham that houses some of the UK’s most dangerous offenders. According to reports, he was struck multiple times with a metal pole during the assault and was discovered by prison staff lying in a pool of blood.

Emergency services were called to the prison on the morning of February 26. Huntley was rushed to hospital under heavy security, with armed police escorting the ambulance. Two prison officers and an armed officer were reportedly inside the ambulance during the transfer.

Doctors placed Huntley in an induced coma due to the severity of his head injuries. Earlier reports suggested he had only a small chance of survival and may have been left blind as a result of the attack.

New reports now claim medics made the decision to switch off the life support machine after tests showed Huntley had entered a vegetative state. The decision was reportedly taken following discussions with his mother, Lynda Richards, who was said to be at his bedside in hospital.

Sources previously said prison staff initially believed Huntley had died when they first found him following the assault. Medical teams later managed to stabilise him, but his condition remained critical.

Police earlier confirmed that a 52-year-old man remained in hospital in a serious condition following the incident, while investigations into the attack continue.

Huntley has been serving a life sentence for the murders of ten-year-old friends Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, whose deaths in Soham, Cambridgeshire, shocked the nation in August 2002. He was given a minimum term that means he will not be eligible for parole until at least 2042.

HMP Frankland, where the attack took place, is known for housing some of Britain’s most notorious criminals and is often referred to as “Monster Mansion” because of the high-profile inmates held there.

Authorities have not yet officially confirmed Huntley’s death, but reports suggest he is not expected to survive.