Serial killer Rose West, 72, is reported to be on "her last legs" health wise, with her condition now so poor she requires assistance to move. West was handed a life sentence in 1995 for the killings of 10 girls and women alongside her husband Fred at their Gloucester residence, 25 Cromwell Street.
Health deterioration and prison plan
West is detained at HMP New Hall near Wakefield, West Yorkshire, and has previously faced disciplinary action for sexually assaulting a young female prisoner in her 20s. However, it's understood West currently has access to TV, DVDs and computer games, along with £20 weekly to spend at the canteen.
Despite her restored privileges, West's health is reported to have deteriorated significantly and prison authorities have been forced to implement a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan, or PEEP, to guarantee she can be evacuated should an emergency arise.
Source reports on West's condition
A source told The Sun West was in a "really bad way and can now barely move". They added: "...people have been talking about how West is on her last legs and does not have long left because of her health", reports the Express. "She cannot leave her wing and is also resigned to dying in jail."
Under her PEEP plan, West would require staff assistance to evacuate in the event of a fire or another disaster at the prison. The source explained: "It means they have to plot a safe escape route and that particular staff are assigned to help her if she is in danger. They also have to have equipment on hand, like a wheelchair, which they would move her in if they had to."
Background of the Wests' crimes
Rose West and her husband Fred were responsible for one of the most notorious killing sprees in British criminal history. The murderous pair lured vulnerable women and girls to their seemingly ordinary address in Gloucester, where they carried out savage killings throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
Fred took his own life aged 53 while awaiting trial for the appalling crimes in 1995. He had buried several victims at the couple's home at 25 Cromwell Street, which police subsequently uncovered.
Known victims of the killer couple include Lynda Gough, Carole Ann Cooper, Lucy Partington, Therese Siegenthaler, Shirley Hubbard, Juanita Mott, Shirley Anne Robinson and Alison Chambers. A number of the women had been living with the Wests, while others were abducted from the street.
Fred also murdered lover Ann McFall and his first wife Catherine Costello. Rose and Fred's daughter Heather was also killed in June 1987 at the age of 16. Her remains were buried beneath the patio after she had suffered abuse at the hands of her parents throughout her life. The youngest victim was Rose's eight-year-old stepdaughter Charmaine.
The house of horrors on Cromwell Street has since been torn down.
A Prison Service spokesperson told The Sun: "Rose West's crimes were horrific, and she will rightly spend the rest of her life behind bars."
