Child killer Mary Bell got pregnant while serving time at an open prison near York, it was sensationally revealed in the book about her life published today.

Bell, who strangled two toddlers when she was 11 years old, describes in Cries Unheard how she then "killed" her own baby by having an abortion.

In the last few months of her sentence, served at Askham Grange, she had an affair with a married man, she says.

When she became pregnant, she realised it would be very difficult for the father, who was "a respected married man in the community".

She says in the book by Gitta Sereny: "Well, you know, it was impossible, wasn't it ?

"So I had an abortion. But if I think that almost the first thing I did after 12 years in prison for killing two babes, was to kill the baby in me...But, I mean, it was the only thing to do...wasn't it."

The governor of Askham Grange, Harry Crew, said he had not worked at the prison when Bell was serving her sentence there, but he was not surprised by her revelations in the book.

She said: "She had been locked up since being a child so she was probably unfamiliar with boys and men. If she got pregnant, I do not think anyone can express surprise at that. I put it down to human relationships.

"The whole purpose of an open prison is to give people a chance to reintegrate into the community. That's why we have open prisons."

In another part of the book, Bell claims drugs were used at Askham Grange, though she says she never touched them. "I saw heroin, and certainly people smuggled in bottles," she says. "But I didn't see crack or coke and angel dust and all that muck."

Mr Crew could not be reached for comment about Bell's drugs claims, and a Prison Service spokesman said he would not comment on "anecdotal evidence" from an individual inmate alleging drug use.

In York today, the book went on sale at Dillons, Waterstones and WH Smith.

It was kept discreetly behind the counter at Dillons and Waterstones, but at WH Smith it shared a small display table with the latest Jeffrey Archer blockbuster, The Eleventh Commandment.

Paul Doughty, manager of Dillons, said: "We don't censor books ourselves, we leave that decision to the publishers."

Blackwells in Stonegate has ordered copies which will be on "low-key" display. Joan Smart, the manager, said: "The company does not want to act as a censor but we do not want to tread on anyone's toes or upset anyone's feelings particularly as there are children involved."

The manager of Blackwells University bookshop in York, Hilary Fryer, said Cries Unheard would not be stocked because it was not a textbook, but added: "We cannot censor material so we will order it for anyone who wants it. I appreciate the difficulties of bookshops in Newcastle Mary Bell's home town but if a book is published and not withdrawn we will sell it."

On the day Mary Bell's story Cries Unheard goes on sale in some British bookshops, DENNIS TOWLE remembers her North Yorkshire days...

If you were a regular patron of a well-known York caf almost 20 years ago, your cuppa could have been made by child killer Mary Bell.

Bell worked in the courtyard caf cum restaurant in St William's College, a medieval building and tourist attraction next to York Minster, in the early part of 1980.

She was an inmate in Askham Grange Prison, near York, at the time, and working in the caf's kitchen was part of the preparation for her release back into the community.

The woman, who as an 11-year-old schoolgirl strangled two boys aged four and three, cut a chic figure as she walked through the city centre to work, wearing sunglasses and carrying a shoulder bag.

She was paid a normal wage by the caf, but the prison authorities deducted her keep and bus fares, which left her with £5 a week spending money.

It was revealed today, with the publication of Gitta Sereny's controversial book about her life, that Mary Bell became pregnant while serving time at Askham Grange, and then had an abortion.

Bell was convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility at Newcastle-upon-Tyne Assizes in 1968, and ordered to be detained indefinitely.

She was transferred to Askham Grange women's open prison, a former mansion set in several acres of wooded grounds in the village of Askham Richard, in June 1979.

Two years before, she had absconded with another prisoner from Moor Court open prison in Staffordshire, but was re-captured just two days later.

The Rev Joe Martin, chaplain at Askham Grange prison and vicar of Askham Richard at the time, was quoted as saying: "No one seems to be worried about her, and there have been no approaches to the prison authorities.

"There is a very good relationship between the prison and the local community."

The close links with prisoners and prison staff included parties of inmates tidying up the village and singing in the parish church choir, while villagers reciprocated by attending the prison's Christmas pantomime.

Bell, then 22, was described by her governor as an articulate and normal young lady of average intelligence, who had resisted substantial offers, particularly from German magazines, for her story.

She was released on licence from Askham Grange in May, 1980, into the care of the probation service.

A Home Office spokesman was quoted at the time as saying: "She wishes to be given a chance to live a normal life and to be left alone."

Bell's transfer to Askham Grange open prison sparked a row in the Commons when Conservative right-winger, Michael Brotherton, claimed there was "considerable concern" about the move.

He said: "There must be convicted murderers who will never ever be released from custody."

The former Home Secretary, Merlyn Rees, said she should be left alone so she could be rehabilitated into the community. But Bell became embroiled in fresh controversy last week when she was taken into protective custody as the row grew over payment she received for a book about her life, Cries Unheard, which goes on sale today.

Author Gitta Sereny has confirmed she paid Bell, but has denied reports that £50,000 was involved.

In a poll of Evening Press readers, 88 per cent said she should not be paid for the book.

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