A convicted killer who murdered four people has bludgeoned a fellow inmate with a claw hammer, prison sources have said.
Damien Bendall, who killed his pregnant lover and three kids, is said to have smashed the inmate’s skull in a jail workshop.
Sources from within Frankland Prison, Co Durham, told The Sun the victim was bludgeoned three or four times and may not survive.
An investigation has been launched into an assault at the Category A men's prison.
Damien Bendall allegedly assaulted another inmate at HMP Frankland
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A source said: "This is a shocking and horrendous attack even by the standards of Frankland, which is a grim and violent place. The prison officers and medics who attended were traumatised.
"Police will investigate it as either attempted murder or murder, depending on whether the victim survives. Bendall has been put into a segregation unit."
A spokesperson from Durham Constabulary told GB News: "An investigation is underway following a serious assault which occurred at Frankland prison, Durham on Friday (May 10).
"The victim was taken to hospital to be treated for his injuries. Enquiries are now ongoing."
A Prison Service spokesperson told GB News: "We cannot comment on a live police investigation but prisoners who are violent face tough punishments."
Damien Bendalll was jailed to life following the killingsPAOn the evening of September 18 2021, Bendall murdered 35-year-old Terri Harris, her 11-year-old daughter Lacey Bennett, her son John Paul Bennett, 13, and Lacey’s friend Connie Gent, 11 in Killamarsh, Derbyshire. Bendall also admitted raping Lacey "as her life ebbed away".
He then rang the police to tell them he had murdered four people, before meeting them outside the home to ask for a cigarette.
His trial at Derby Crown Court heard how Bendall and Terri had met online about 18 months before the killings.
The couple's relationship was said to be categorised by his drug use and unstable behaviour and the family said they "witnessed in effect a disastrous effect on Terri's wellbeing".
The scene in Chandos Crescent in Killamarsh, Derbyshire, where four people were murdered in 2021
PA
In October last year, an inquest found several "very stark" failures by probation services led to Bendall being categorised as low risk before the murders.
Peter Nieto, the senior coroner for Derby and Derbyshire, ruled there were "several very stark acts or omissions" by both the probation service and individuals that "cumulatively" contributed to the deaths.
This includes clear signs that Bendall posed a serious danger to women and children.