A fellow prisoner has admitted trying to kill the Soham murderer, Ian Huntley.

Damien Fowkes, 35, pleaded guilty at Hull crown court to slashing Huntley's throat in Frankland prison, Durham, in March last year.

Fowkes, from Northampton, also admitted the manslaughter of the child killer Colin Hatch, who was strangled at Full Sutton prison near York in February this year.

He was initially charged with Hatch's murder but his guilty plea to manslaughter was accepted on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Fowkes appeared before the court on Tuesday in a sealed dock surrounded by five prison officers. An application for him to come into court in handcuffs was rejected by the judge.

The prisoner spoke to confirm his name and enter his pleas. He denied murdering Hatch but admitted manslaughter. Graham Reeds, prosecuting, said this plea was acceptable.

The court heard how Fowkes shows "strong psychopathic traits".