The Yorkshire Ripper serial killer Peter Sutcliffe has died in hospital - the Prison Service has confirmed.

The 74-year-old, who served part of his whole life term on the Isle of Wight at Parkhurst Prison, had reportedly refused treatment at University Hospital of North Durham after being transferred there from maximum security HMP Frankland, where he was an inmate.

Sutcliffe had tested positive for Covid-19 and was suffering from underlying health conditions.

He was serving a whole life term for murdering 13 women across Yorkshire and the North West between 1975 and 1980.

In May 1981, he was jailed for 20 life terms at the Old Bailey, with the judge recommending a minimum sentence of 30 years.

He was transferred from Parkhurst Prison to Broadmoor secure hospital in Berkshire in 1984 after he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

After a long spell in Broadmoor, he was transferred to HMP Frankland in 2016 after being deemed stable enough to serve time in prison.

What have the Prison Service said?

A Prison Service spokesman said: “HMP Frankland prisoner Peter Coonan (born Sutcliffe) died in hospital on November 13. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has been informed.”

Sutcliffe had reportedly suffered from a range of conditions before his death including heart trouble, diabetes and obesity.