Serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, 74, is taken to hospital after suspected heart attack 

Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe (pictured) was rushed to University Hospital of North Durham after suffering a suspected heart attack

Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe is reported to be in hospital after suffering a suspected heart attack.

The 74-year-old, who murdered at least 13 women in the 70s and 80s, was taken to casualty after developing crushing chest pains.

He also feared he was suffering with coronavirus after spending several days struggling for breath.

Staff carried out tests on the serial killer while he was handcuffed to his hospital bed, where he remains under guard.

A source told The Sun: ‘His heart rate is really high and oxygen is really low. He’s had symptoms of a heart attack.

‘He’s on a cardiac ward and is under observation. They are monitoring to try and work out exactly what’s happened.’

The source claimed the former lorry driver and gravedigger was trying to ‘make conversation’ with nurses. ‘He’s being treated in his own room – they won’t treat him on a ward,’ the source added.

Sutcliffe, who is serving life for his horrific crimes, alerted warders at HMP Frankland in County Durham about his chest pains on Wednesday.

He was reportedly taken to the prison’s hospital wing and then was transferred to the University Hospital of North Durham.

He has previously complained of health issues, including breathlessness, and claims he is suffering from long-term coronavirus symptoms. ‘Difficulty getting my breath, could barely sleep,’ he reportedly said last week.

‘I hope I can breathe and get some sleep when I hit the sack tonight or I’ll have to report myself sick tomorrow.’ The mass murderer, who is said to be terrified of Covid-19, has turned away visitors throughout the pandemic.

In recent years he has suffered from angina, diabetes and near-blindness following an attack from a fellow inmate.

Sutcliffe, 74, who is serving life for his horrific crimes, has suffered from angina, diabetes and near-blindness following an attack from a fellow inmate, in recent years

He said: ‘My eyesight is getting worse – I’m bumping into people. I’ve been completely blind in one eye for 20 years and the other one is deteriorating at a fair old rate.

The Ministry of Justice said they would not comment on individual prisoners. Sutcliffe, who also attempted to murder seven other women, was jailed in 1981 for a killing spree that took place between 1975 and 1980.

He has previously spoken of his anger at being handcuffed during a hospital visit.

‘It’s absolutely stupid,’ he said.

‘Where was I going to go in a hospital gown? And how could I get out of the hospital? It was like a maze, a massive place. I wouldn’t even attempt it any way.

‘I’ve no intention of doing a runner … just this stupid category A rules they’ve got.’

Three years after he was jailed, Sutcliffe was moved to Broadmoor Hospital after he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

He was transferred to HMP Frankland in 2016 after psychiatrists said he was stable enough for jail.