By ELEANOR MANN
Published: | Updated:
Serial killer Rose West, now aged 72, is said to be nearing death and 'barely able to move' as she prepares to die behind bars.
West was given a whole-life sentence for the murders of 10 young women between 1971 and 1987 alongside her husband, Fred, in 1995 and is currently held at HMP New Hall in West Yorkshire.
The infamous serial killer, who was reported earlier this year to have sexually assaulted a young inmate after grooming her for weeks, is now said to be 'unable to move' and 'on her last legs'.
West, who sexually abused and tortured her own children at her and Fred West's so-called 'house of horrors' on 25 Cromwell Street in Gloucester, is reported as having badly deteriorated in recent months.
Her health is said to have declined so much that she cannot move unaided and has a personal evacuation plan in place, since she cannot move without assistance.
The Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) is used by prisons as a safety plan for specific inmates with impaired mobility or disabilities that would prevent them from evacuating on their own during an emergency, such as a fire or a prison riot.
Rose West was convicted of the torture and murder of at least 10 women and girls, including her daughter Heather West and stepdaughter Charmaine West
Rose West is currently housed at HMP New Hall in West Yorkshire (pictured)
A prison officer or a trusted, trained fellow inmate will be designated to immediately assist the vulnerable inmate when an emergency alarm goes off.
A source told the Sun: 'Staff do not like having to use [PEEPs] and to follow them – especially for people like Rose West.
'It creates paperwork and potentially puts officers in danger who would have to help her.'
They added: 'But they owe her a duty of care, despite who she is... She cannot leave her wing and is also resigned to dying in jail.'
Earlier this year, Rose West was disciplined in prison after allegedly sexually assaulting a young female inmate.
The 72-year-old was said to have targeted the vulnerable woman, in her 20s, after grooming her over a period of weeks before the alleged attack in February.
The killer was hauled before a prison governor and stripped of the privileges she enjoyed as an 'enhanced' prisoner, according to sources. She also reportedly spent long periods confined to her cell following the incident.
A source told The Sun at the time that West, who has been jailed since 1995, remained a serious danger despite her age and appearance.
Rose and Fred West collaborated on their heinous crimes but Fred escaped justice when he died by suicide while awaiting trial while Rose was sentenced to life imprisonment
25 Cromwell Street in Gloucester, the so-called 'House of Horrors' where Fred and Rose West lived and carried out their horrific murders
'Rose looks like a frail pensioner, but she is still extremely dangerous - as this attack shows,' the source said.
The insider claimed West befriended the younger inmate and exploited her vulnerability before allegedly trying to force herself on her in a cell.
Prison staff were alerted and responded quickly, with West removed from the situation and disciplined by jail bosses.
It is unclear whether officers intervened during the incident itself or whether the alleged victim later raised the alarm.
The source added that the incident has shocked other inmates, saying: 'The whole prison is talking about it and inmates are shocked, despite what they might have done themselves.'
West, who changed her name to Jennifer Jones by deed poll in 2020, is being held at HMP New Hall near Wakefield in West Yorkshire.
She is housed in a specialist unit designed to provide a 'psychologically informed environment' for female prisoners.