Ian Brady dead: Moors murderer dies aged 79

Ian Brady, the Moors murderer, has died aged 79, an NHS spokesman has confirmed.

The serial killer was being held at Ashworth Hospital, at a high security psychiatric unit, and receiving palliative care.

He had reportedly been ill for some time and had been on successive hunger strikes since 1999 arguing that he should be allowed to die.

At a court hearing in February lawyers said he had been bedridden for the last couple of years and it was "fair to say" he was terminally ill, with emphysema among his ailments.

Following his hunger strikes, Brady demanded a judicial review of the legality of being force-fed - but was refused permission.

He was jailed for sexually torturing and murdering five children and teenagers aged between ten and 17 in the 1960s.

Brady was sentenced to life in prison in 1966 after being convicted of murdering John Kilbride, 12, Lesley Ann Downey, 10, and Edward Evans, 17.

Together with Hindley he also confessed to the murders of Keith Bennett, 12, and Pauline Reade, 16.

The Glasgow-born killer died without revealing the location of where his last child victim was buried, despite multiple attempts from the family.

Terry Kilbride, whose brother John, 12, was also murdered by Brady, begged him to tell police where he dumped the body of Keith Bennett, who went missing aged 12 in 1964.

He told The Sun: "I would beg him to do the right thing on his deathbed and tell us where Keith is.

"Now is the time for him to stop playing tricks and come clean.

"If he takes it to the grave, I will feel so sorry for Keith's family.

"There will only ever be another search if there's fresh evidence. That has to come from him."

Mr Kilbride said he hopes the killer "rots in hell".

"We'll certainly celebrate his death when it comes. Good riddance," he said.

Brady's partner and accomplice, Myra Hindley, died in prison in 2002 aged 60.