CHILD killer Roy Whiting was badly injured when he was attacked in prison with makeshift blades.

A pair of convicted murderers stabbed Sarah Payne killer Roy Whiting while he was in his cell.

According to the Sun, Richard Prendergast and Kevin Hyden stabbed Whiting with makeshift weapons at maximum-security Wakefield Prison in 2018.

Convicted paedophile Whiting, originally from Horsham, murdered eight-year-old Sarah Payne in 2000, who disappeared in West Sussex.

Sarah vanished from Kingston Gorse, near the home of her grandfather, on July 1, 2000.

Her body was found in a field near Pulborough, 15 miles away, on July 17.

The following year, Whiting was found guilty of her murder.

It was revealed that Whiting had previously been jailed for four years after kidnapping and indecently assaulting a four-year-old girl in Langley Green in Crawley in 1995.

Following the case, 'Sarah's Law' was created, where parents can enquire about a person with regular access to their children.

Today, Leeds Crown Court heard Prendergast and Hyden, both 40, stabbed Whiting him in the upper body and punched and kicked him in the head.

A nurse who rushed to his aid in cell three on Delta wing found him with multiple stab wounds and not breathing.

The Argus: Schoolgirl Sarah Payne was murdered

She said: "I do believe that my actions on this day did save Roy Whiting’s life, due to the severity of the injuries he had received and the quick response having qualified medics on the scene.”

A prison officer who dragged Whiting’s attackers off him said: “I 100 per cent believe that if we had not entered that cell and drew our batons Whiting would be dead.

"The perpetrators did not stop stabbing Whiting until we managed to force open the door.”

The attack on the 61-year-old only stopped when armed prison officers forced their way into the cell.

Whiting was treated for stab wounds to the chest and back at the hospital before he was returned to prison.

Prendergast and Hyden, who both appeared via video link from maximum-security Frankland Prison admitted Section 18 wounding with intent.

Both were sentenced to seven-and-a-half years imprisonment to be served consecutively to the minimum terms of their life sentences.