Mother's fury at Sarah pictures in killer's cell

CHILDREN'S campaigner Sara Payne has spoken of her "anger and dismay" after being told her daughter's killer was found with pictures of the girl in his cell.

Roy Whiting, 51, reportedly had newspaper and magazine cuttings about eight-year-old Sarah Payne and other young girls in his cell at Wakefield Prison in West Yorkshire.

The disturbing discovery was made during a routine search and detailed in a prison report.

Mrs Payne, 40, was reported as saying: "I felt anger and dismay when told what he had been doing. This is extremely unfortunate and gives me the creeps.

"We live in an age where material like this is easily available and the Prison Service can only do its best to try and restrict it."

She added: "Collecting newspaper clippings is, I am sure, Roy Whiting and other paedophiles' way of trying to intimidate the families of their victims."

One newspaper quoted the 2009 report as saying: "It is of serious concern that the security information indicates hidden newspaper cuttings of Mr Whiting's victim and young girls were discovered during a cell search.

"It appears that his interest in young girls continues to be evident within the prison environment."

The report said Whiting refused to accept responsibility for Sarah's murder. He killed her in 2000. She vanished while playing near her grandparents' house in Littlehampton, West Sussex.

Her naked body was found 16 days later. A strand of Sarah's hair had been found on Whiting's sweatshirt, and fibres from his van were found on her hair and shoe.

A Prison Service spokeswoman said: "We don't comment on individual cases.

"Where inappropriate materials are found in prisoners' cells they are immediately removed and the prisoner may be subject to disciplinary proceedings."