Rhys Jones's killer is attacked in prison

The teenager who murdered 11-year-old Rhys Jones has been attacked in jail, the Prison Service confirmed. Sean Mercer, 18, was assaulted at HMP Moorland in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, but the incident was stopped by the "timely intervention" of staff, a spokeswoman added.

A Prison Service spokeswoman said yesterday: "We can confirm an incident took place at HMP Moorland at 2.30pm on Saturday, 27 December, in which two prisoners assaulted each other.

The incident lasted less than two minutes and was quickly resolved by staff. The prisoners received only minor injuries and did not require hospital treatment. Neither received facial injuries in the incident."

Last month Mercer, of Croxteth, Liverpool, was jailed for life and was told he would serve a minimum of 22 years. Mercer, a Croxteth Crew gang member, killed Rhys when he fired three shots at rival gang members across a pub car park in August last year.