Ian Huntley: One of the UK’s most despised child killers dies after brutal prison bashing

A former school caretaker convicted of killing two children has died in hospital after a brutal prison bashing.

Ian Huntley, 52, captured headlines in the UK after being convicted of the murder of two 10-year-old girls, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, following a nationwide search for the pair.

Huntley was reportedly attacked by another inmate in the workshop of the maximum security Frankland prison on February 26.

Statements released by police soon after the attack said Huntley was repeatedly struck on the head with a metal bar during the assault and had to be transferred to hospital before being put on life support.

The Durham Constabulary are investigating the incident and are preparing a report for the Crown Prosecution Service as they consider charges for the inmate who committed the alleged murder.

The murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman captured the attention of the UK for two weeks after a police alert was issued to locate the girls.

They vanished from the village of Soham in eastern England on August 4, 2002 after leaving a barbecue to buy lollies at a local store.

For 13 days, police searched for the pair, holding out hope they might be alive AAP reports.

A photo of the girls wearing matching red Manchester United football shirts, taken just before they disappeared, became a fixture of front pages and news broadcasts as detectives mounted a huge hunt.

The search ended when a group of hikers discovered the girls’ remains beside a dirt path in a wooded area a few miles from the village.

“The murders remain one of the most shocking and devastating cases in our nation’s history, and our thoughts are with their families,” the UK Ministry of Justice said in a statement.

Huntley denied murdering the two 10-year-olds but was convicted after a trial at London’s Central Criminal Court in 2003.

His life sentence recommended he serve at least 40 years.

While in prison, Huntley survived repeated attempts on his life, and he was kept under close protection along with other notorious killers.

In one incident in 2010, his throat was slashed by another inmate.

At the time of the murders, Huntley lived with Maxine Carr, a teaching assistant at Holly and Jessica’s school.

Carr gave Huntley a false alibi and was subsequently jailed for 21 months for perverting the course of justice.

She is now living under a new identity.

Huntley told reporters during the search for the pair of best friends that he thought he was one of the last people to see them alive while Carr said she would always keep a card Holly had drawn for her.