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Schoolgirl Sarah Payne's killer Roy Whiting demands new prison mattress as he 'has a bad back'

Sarah Payne, who was murdered by paedophile Roy Whiting in 2000 (Rex)
Sarah Payne, who was murdered by paedophile Roy Whiting in 2000 (Rex)

The killer of schoolgirl Sarah Payne has demanded a new mattress in his jail cell, complaining that his current one gives him a bad back.

Paedophile Roy Whiting, 58, who was jailed for life in 2001 for the murder of the eight-year-old, has complained his prison-standard mattress is “too thin”, according to a source.

The killer, who reportedly rarely leaves his cell at Wakefield Prison out of fear of attacks from fellow prisoners, is said to be always complaining.

A prison source told The Mirror: “Whiting is always whingeing about something – whether it is the food, the temperature in his cell – or now that his mattress is too thin.

“He has asked the staff on the wing if he’s allowed to buy his own mattress, because he says the prison-issue one is too thin.

“He says he can’t get to sleep properly and keeps waking up with aches and pains.”

The former mechanic has been attacked several times by inmates. In the past, he has been slashed with a razor, stabbed with a sharpened toilet brush and hit with a flask by another prisoner.

According to reports, he also avoids prison food, instead buying supplies from the canteen, in case it has been poisoned.

Whiting, formerly of Littlehampton, West Sussex, was convicted of the 2000 murder by a jury at Lewes Crown Court, in 2001.

Mr Justice Curtis said Whiting was “an evil man” and “a cunning and glib liar”. He added: “You are and will remain an absolute menace to any little girl.

“You’re every parent’s and grandparent’s nightmare come true. I recommend you be kept in prison for the rest of your life so that no further child can be added to the list of your victims,” he said.

After Whitling was convicted, it was revealed that he had a history of child sex crimes, having previously abducted and sexually assaulted another eight year-old girl prior to Sarah’s murder.

After the murder, Sarah’s mother, Sara, worked with the Home Office to help create Sarah’s Law, also known as the child sex offender disclosure scheme.

It was rolled out across all England and Wales police forces in 2011, following a successful pilot.

It lets people who care for children apply to find out if someone has a record for child sexual offences.