Moors murderer Ian Brady has spent a second night in a Merseyside hospital after becoming falling sick, officials have confirmed.
The serial killer was admitted to Fazakerley hospital in Aintree, Liverpool, amid tight security for tests on Monday afternoon after becoming "acutely physically unwell". He is in a single room guarded by two nurses from Ashworth high-security psychiatric hospital.
Brady, 74, who was jailed in 1966 for murdering three children, has been detained at the secure psychiatric hospital in Maghull, Merseyside, since 1985.
There are concerns about his health as he has been on hunger strike since 1999 and has been tube-fed against his will. A heavy smoker, he also suffers from spondylitis, a degenerative condition that affects his spine.
The murderer is sectioned under the Mental Health Act, so is not allowed to take his own life.
A spokeswoman for Ashworth said on Wednesday: "Ian Brady is still in Ashworth hospital this morning where he spent the night after becoming acutely physically unwell. He has undergone a series of tests and was kept in.
"Ian Brady is in a single room and will continue to be accompanied in that room at all times by two nurses from Ashworth hospital.
"Two other members of Ashworth hospital staff will also be on duty outside his room throughout his stay in the general hospital."
Brady was due to attend a mental health tribunal next Monday at Manchester's Civil Justice Centre via videolink from Ashworth hospital regarding his application to be transferred to a Scottish prison and be allowed to die. But his court appearance is in doubt as a result of his illness.
Brady was jailed with his partner, Myra Hindley, in 1966 for murdering three children. She was convicted of two murders and protecting Brady after the murder of John Kilbride.
The couple lured children to their deaths, tortured them and recorded their desperate screams, before burying their bodies on Saddleworth Moor, Greater Manchester.
The mother of Keith Bennett, one of Brady's victims, has indicated she is not well enough to attend Monday's mental health tribunal hearing. Winnie Johnson's solicitor said it would be too traumatic.
Last year, she said she hoped to come "face to face" with the killer. Her solicitor, John Ainley, said she had made it clear over the years that she considered Brady should remain in a mental hospital for the remainder of his natural life, and not be transferred to a prison in England or Scotland.
Pauline Reade, 16, disappeared on her way to a dance in July 1963, and John Kilbride, 12, was snatched four months later. Keith Bennett was abducted in June 1964 after he left home to visit his grandmother. His body has never been found, despite extensive searches of the moorland. On Boxing Day 1964, Lesley Ann Downey, 10, was lured away from a funfair and the couple's final victim, Edward Evans, 17, was killed in October 1965. Both Hindley and Brady were taken back to the moor in 1987 – when they finally admitted killing Keith Bennett and Pauline Reade – to assist police in finding the missing victims. But only Pauline's remains were found.
Hindley died in prison in November 2002 at the age of 60.
Alan West – Lesley Ann's stepfather – told ITV Granada Reports: "I only wished in one way that he would end up the same way as Hindley did. Don't come out of the hospital. The only way out is in a box. I'll be happy."
