PETER Sutcliffe is self-isolating in his high-security prison after he was diagnosed with coronavirus, it has been reported tonight.

According to The Sun, the notorious serial killer tested positive for the potentially deadly disease after returning to prison following a stint in hospital where he was treated for chest pains.

The Sun claims the 74-year-old has now been isolated in the high security Frankland Prison, in County Durham, where he is serving life, and is being closely monitored.

Sutcliffe was jailed for life in 1981 and, after a long spell in Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire, he was transferred to HMP Frankland in 2016 after being deemed stable enough to serve time in prison.

The T&A has been unable to verify the claims but his brother Mick told the paper last week that Sutcliffe had been 'fine' when they spoke on the phone.

Mick Sutcliffe said he had not been told anything about his brother being in hospital, and that "apart from having diabetes for 20 years and being blind as a bat he is fine".

He also said that Peter Sutcliffe "has never mentioned being worried about Covid", and that the prison in Durham is keeping prisoners apart to stop the virus from potentially spreading.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “We don’t comment on individual prisoners.”