The Yorkshire Ripper serial killer has died in hospital, the Prison Service has confirmed.

Peter Sutcliffe, 74, had reportedly refused treatment at University Hospital of North Durham after being transferred there from maximum security HMP Frankland, where he was an inmate.

The serial killer was serving a whole life term for murdering 13 women across Yorkshire and north-west England between 1975 and 1980.

He was convicted in 1981 and spent three decades at Broadmoor Hospital before being moved to HMP Frankland in County Durham in 2016.

Former police officer Bob Bridgestock, who worked on the hunt for Sutcliffe, said he "won't be shedding any tears".

Two weeks ago, the serial killer was treated at the same hospital after suffering a suspected heart attack.

He went back to prison but returned after developing coronavirus.

According to reports, he had turned down treatment for the virus and was at risk of dying due to his age and health problems.

Sutcliffe had a range of conditions including heart trouble, diabetes and obesity, it was reported.

Mick Sutcliffe told Bradford’s Telegraph and Argus newspaper he had not heard from his brother in recent weeks.

He told the newspaper: “He rings me without fail every Monday, but he has not rung me for the last two or three Mondays. So I knew something must be up.”

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