Tobin suffers alleged stroke before appeal

SERIAL killer Peter Tobin was treated in hospital after he fell ill with a suspected stroke ahead of a court hearing.

Tobin was due to appear at the High Court in Edinburgh today to appeal against the length of his sentence for the murder of schoolgirl Vicky Hamilton in 1991.

The West Lothian schoolgirl's body was found along with another of Tobin's victims, Dinah McNicol, in the garden of one of his former homes in Margate, Kent, in November 2008.

Tobin was being held at HMP Frankland in Brasside, Durham.

The Scottish Court Service confirmed today's hearing had been withdrawn after Tobin had "taken ill". A spokesman said: "We can confirm that a prisoner at HMP Frankland spent a number of days in hospital. He has now returned to the prison."

Tobin, 63, was convicted of murdering Miss Hamilton in December 2008. A judge imposed a life sentence with a minimum recommendation of 30 years.