Police killer Dale Cregan 'seen in family photo taken at Ashworth Hospital'

Updated

Photographs appearing to show one-eyed police killer Dale Cregan in maximum-security Ashworth Hospital have been released.

The images were reportedly published on Instagram by a relative of the murderer.

According to the Manchester Evening News (MEN), they show Cregan, 32, with his mother, Anita, and sister, Stacey.

The gangster was moved from Manchester's Strangeways jail to Ashworth near Maghull on Merseyside in September 2013 after refusing food.

A spokesman for Mersey Care NHS Trust, which runs Ashworth, said: "Photographs of patients are routinely taken for identification and security purposes.

"Photographs of patients with family members may be permitted only with the approval of Ashworth High Security Hospital's security department and the patient's care team.

"Approval is only given on the understanding they are for personal use only and all our policies are open to continual review."

The MEN reported that Cregan has had two stints at Ashworth but is now serving his sentence in a prison.

Creganwas jailed for life in June 2013 for the ruthless murders of two unarmed policewomen and a father and son.

He lured Pcs Nicola Hughes, 23, and Fiona Bone, 32, to their deaths in a horrifying gun and grenade attack in September 2012.

He had gone on the run days before, killing David Short, 46, in August 2012 after gunning down his son Mark, 23, at the Cotton Tree Pub in Droylsden three months earlier.

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