The Yorkshire Ripper has been treated for coronavirus in hospital amid claims he refused treatment and was at risk of death.

Peter Sutcliffe, 74, was being treated at the University Hospital of North Durham, three miles from the maximum security Frankland jail where he is an inmate.

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

He went back to prison but has since returned after developing coronavirus.

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

Sutcliffe has a range of conditions including heart trouble, diabetes and obesity, it has been reported.

He is serving a whole life term for murdering 13 women across Yorkshire and the North West between 1975 and 1980.

Sutcliffe was convicted 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.

Mick Sutcliffe told the Telegraph and Argus on Monday he had not heard from his brother in recent weeks.

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