Killer Mark Hobson is being monitored every minute of the day in prison after being jailed for the rest of his life.

We can reveal that he is on the hospital wing at Wakefield Prison on "self-harm watch" after he was jailed for the brutal murders of twin sisters Claire and Diane Sanderson and Strensall pensioners James and Joan Britton.

The Evening Press reported last week how Hobson was sentenced to a "whole life tariff" by a judge at Leeds Crown Court for the vicious killings.

The special watch status means Hobson will spend at least two weeks being monitored 24-hours-a-day, even while he sleeps, by psychiatrists and psychotherapists, who will have to decide whether or not he can be released into the general prison population.

The parents of Claire and Diane, of Camblesforth, said they hoped Hobson "rots in hell" following the verdict.

A source at Wakefield Prison today said: "It's all very well when inmates are on remand, but when they hear that prison slam shut behind them for the final time, that's when reality sets in."

As a Category A prisoner Hobson will join fellow inmates at Wakefield Prison such as child-killer Ian Huntley, responsible for the Soham murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.

He will also be in the same prison as Roy Whiting, who murdered eight-year-old Sarah Payne, the notorious triple child killer Robert Black and violent convict Charles Bronson.

Harold Shipman, the GP who is considered to be the most prolific serial killer of all time with a toll of up to 300 victims, hanged himself at the prison.

Housing up to 581 inmates, Wakefield is a jail for prisoners serving life sentences, and focuses on serious sex offenders.

It was originally built as a house of correction in 1594, but the current prison was designated in 1966.

Prisoners can be expected to attend offending behaviour courses - such as sex offender treatment, self-change programmes and learning difficulty groups.

Drugs rehabilitation programmes and alcohol education courses are also available.

In response to a Parliamentary question earlier this year, Charles Clarke, the Home Secretary, said the cost of keeping a Category A prisoner at a high security prison ran to about £40,000 a year.

If Hobson were to live another 50 years, the cost of detaining him would be £2 million.

Hobson sentence 'is just'

THE sentence that means Mark Hobson must spend the rest of his life in jail has been welcomed in the community left stunned by his appalling crimes.

The Rev Cyril Roberts, Rector of Great Snaith, helped George and Jacqueline Sanderson, the parents of murdered twins Claire and Diane Sanderson, throughout the ordeal.

He said: "A life sentence was inevitable. Clearly, society has to be protected from that man.

"There is no way to ever make reparations for what he did, and there is no way that he can ever be let out."

Margaret Hulme, a councillor who represents Camblesforth, where Claire and Diane were murdered, said: "It's the right sentence, and although the court proceedings have been very upsetting for villagers in Camblesforth, things here are getting back to normal.

Vince and Kathleen Flavell, the couple who gave Hobson his first job at their former butcher's shop in Gowthorpe, Selby, said jail was the only place for him.

Mrs Flavell said: "What else could they have done with him? The judge really didn't have an option.

"People will never forget about what he did - it's still hard to believe something like this could ever happen."

Victims' York home sold for near asking price

PEOPLE have sought to cash in on the Hobson murders by making "derisory" offers for the house of horror where he stabbed Joan and James Britton to death.

The detached house on the outskirts of Strensall, which has stood empty since the murders last July, has been sold subject to contract by estate agents Stephensons.

Senior partner Ian Reynolds said it had gone for a sum "within striking distance" of the £375,000 guide price.

But he revealed that a number of people had come in with offers well below the asking price.

"We had derisory offers from people thinking it would be sold for a knock-down figure," he said.

He said the person who has bought the property was well aware of what had happened there and had not been deterred.

He said the buyer, who he could not identify, was unavailable for comment.

Mr Reynolds revealed that he knew the Brittons personally, having been trained as a chartered surveyor by James Britton at British Rail many years ago. He said he had met the couple again not that long before they were killed, and found them very frail. "You could have blown them over," he said.

Updated: 09:12 Monday, May 30, 2005