Lucy Letby’s ‘violent’ jail residence – ‘boiling water assaults’ to ‘intercourse favours’

A former lag has lifted the lid on Lucy Letby’s prison life — and told of the grim future that awaits the child murderer.

Letby, 34, is the UK’s the most notorious child serial killer. She was convicted last year of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six others at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

The Hereford-born monster was also found guilty of the attempted murder of another child, known as Baby K, in a retrial at Manchester Crown Court. As a Category A prisoner, she faces a horrific future with a target on her head.

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A memoir written by ex-inmate Sophie Campbell offers details of life inside “violent” prison walls. She claims the worst female jails see boiling water attacks and sex favours for food a part of daily life.

Now serving 14 whole-life sentences, Letby may never see the outside world again. It’s likely she will start her sentence at either HMP Bronzefield in Surrey or HMP Low Newton in Durham, both notorious women’s prisons.

Bronzefield, the largest women’s prison in Europe, has housed infamous criminals like Rose West, Shauna Hoare and al-Qaeda fanatic Roshonara Choudhry. Low Newton, another maximum security facility, has been home to killers Joanna Dennehy, Bernadette McNeilly and Baby P’s mother Tracey Connelly.

Campbell, a former Bronzefield inmate, described her time there as so disturbing she was pushed to wrote a memoir, Breakfast at Bronzefield. In it, she details the violence that plagued the prison.

Releasing her story in 2020, she said: “As well as same-sex relationships thriving in Bronzefield, some female prisoners were engaging in sexual favours with the officers to get drugs or food. That was a real shock for me.

“Violence is everywhere. It puts you on edge. You have to be alert as a situation can escalate rapidly. That’s why you learn to adopt a new code of conduct inside.”

According to The Mirror, she also spoke of witnessing a woman having boiling hot water thrown over her face during her first few weeks. She added: “It rattles you. You know it could be you — say the wrong thing, or look at the wrong person and you could be burned and blistered and never offered medical treatment.”

Experts say Letby will be given restricted status — the female equivalent of Category A — marking her as a high-risk inmate. She will be on suicide watch for months and isolated from other prisoners initially.

We previously shared the insight of Vanessa Frake, who spent her career overseeing female child killers. She said every move Letby made would be monitored for risk.

Vanessa predicted there will be violent attempts on Letby’s life by fellow inmates. She added: “You’ve got the likes of serial killer Joanna Dennehy behind bars who murders for fun. She’d have no hesitation in trying to have a pop at Lucy Letby or others for that matter.”

Despite the harsh conditions, Letby will still be allowed limited visits from her family, who supported her throughout her trial. Over time, she may be integrated into prison activities like reading clubs or cooking classes. Later in life, she could be transferred to a lower-security prison to live out her remaining days.

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