The 52-year-old was seriously injured in the attack that happened in a workshop at HMP Frankland in Durham last week.

According to reports, Huntley is understood to have been declared blind after he was hit in the eyes and suffered brain trauma.

Ian Huntley was attacked in HMP Frankland in County Durham (Image: Tom Wilkinson/PA Wire)

According to The Sun, Huntley — who is serving a life sentence for the murders of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in 2002 — is not expected to regain consciousness.

A source told the publication: "It is now looking like he will not pull through, barring a miracle.

“Huntley never recovered from the battering and never stood much of a chance of doing so.

“His condition has not really improved since day one, despite the best efforts of doctors.

“It looks like it’s only a matter of time.

Ian Huntley is serving a life sentence for murdering Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in Soham (Image: PA)

“It could be days, it could be weeks."

Huntley has not responded to treatment and doctors are reportedly considering switching off his ventilator after discussions with his family.

The source added: “The medics have worked wonders in keeping him alive so long and have to treat every patient the same.

“But they are monitoring him really closely and he is not responding well or showing signs of recovery.

“And if, by some miracle, he does survive he is likely to be blind and there won’t be much of him left.

“His head injuries are so bad you would not be able to identify him in the hospital.”

It was reported last week that a man who attacked Huntley shouted, "I've done it, I've done it," after he was hit six times.

What is Ian Huntley serving a life prison sentence for?

Huntley is serving a life prison sentence for the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, who were both 10, in 2002.

He claimed during his trial at the Old Bailey in 2003 that the girls, wearing their Manchester United shirts, went inside his house because Holly had a nosebleed.

Huntley said in his testimony that Holly drowned in the bath and that he killed Jessica as he tried to silence her screams, but jurors concluded he was lying.

The bodies of Holly Wells (left) and her best friend, Jessica Chapman, were found in Suffolk (Image: PA)

The judge, Mr Justice Moses, told Huntley: “You are the only person who knows how you murdered them.”

The girls’ bodies had been found in a ditch near an airbase at Mildenhall in Suffolk after a two-week search.

Huntley’s girlfriend, Maxine Carr, who was a teaching assistant at the girls’ school, served 21 months for perverting the course of justice for giving Huntley a false alibi.

She is now living under a new identity.

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