Thirteen months after the attempted strangulation of Peter Sutcliffe by Paul Wilson, Sutcliffe was attacked on March 10 1997 by Ian Kay, 29, who stabbed him in the eyes with a Parker roller-ball pen.

Kay had been jailed for eight years in December 1991 for nearly killing a shop assistant and for 16 robberies on stores in London. He was allowed out on home leave less than three years later and within two hours he had robbed a post office. He was again given leave in August 1994, and failed to return.

Between August and November of that year, he later admitted to seven robberies, a theft, and an attempted theft, all but one of them involving Woolworths. As well, Kay was charged with the November 1994 murder of Woolworths' assistant manager John Penfold. Kay had stabbed Mr Penfold through the heart with a kitchen knife before grabbing two 50p coins from the till which he dropped as he ran to a nearby car. Kay described Mr Penfold as a "have-a-go hero who got what he deserved."

Psychiatrists said Kay was suffering from an abnormal personality disorder, and it was argued at his trial that he was unable to control his violent impulses. The jury rejected his plea of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and Kay was jailed for a minimum of 22 years in 1995 for the murder. Later, after showing signs of mental illness, Kay was transferred to Broadmoor.

The attack on Peter Sutcliffe came just a week after Health Secretary Stephen Dorrell had announced a wide-ranging review, concentrating on security and the quality of care, of the management of Broadmoor. The Prison Officers' Association had criticised security and staffing levels at Broadmoor, including a lack of experienced nurses and patients intimidating the staff. They had warned that the hospital was reaching a "breaking point".

One source said that Peter Sutcliffe had been sitting in his room in Henley ward when Kay burst in. "An argument started and before staff could reach him, Kay had attacked Sutcliffe.There was a scuffle and Sutcliffe was stabbed in both eyes by what we believe was a fibre tip pen. The points of these types of pens are very sharp and can do a lot of damage. Kay had apparently been showing signs of violence in the past few weeks. We have had other patients in Broadmoor who have been stabbed with a felt pen like this. They are available in the work areas and are used for drawing."

It was also said that, after Kay had been moved to a private room two doors from Sutcliffe, he had gone berserk. It was believed that he objected to be so close to one of Britain's most notorious murderers.

Another source stated, "At about the time of the attack, Sutcliffe usually stays on the ward to write letters to the various pen pals he has. He has got pens and pencils he uses but it is not clear whether Kay used one of Sutcliffe's felt-tips to attack him. It would have been very quiet on the ward at the time of the attack and most patients would have been off on therapy courses or in work units."

One nurse said, "Kay has made a couple of attacks on patients in the last few months and Sutcliffe seems to have been his ultimate aim. He definitely knew who he was attacking. He struts around the high-security ward like a cockerel in a show of bravado. He needs to prove himself and become top dog - to remove the fear of being attacked by others."

One hospital source said that Kay was seen by a nurse leaving Sutcliffe's room. "He was smiling and appeared very calm. Then the nurse spotted blood on the front of Kay's shirt. The nurse raced into Sutcliffe's room and found him lying on the floor with his face in a terrible state. He was writhing in agony saying that he couldn't see."

After being initially examined by doctors at Broadmoor, Peter Sutcliffe was taken to the specialist eye unit at Frimley Park Hospital near Camberley, Surrey. He was brought back to Broadmoor later that night. The following day he was again taken to Frimley Park Hosptial where the eye specialists abandoned hope of saving the sight in his left eye, while his right eye was likely to have impaired vision.

John Sutcliffe, his father, complained about not being informed by the hospital about his son's condition, "All I have heard about him being blind is through the media, which annoys me - I would much prefer to hear from the hospital myself." It was reported that Peter Sutcliffe was also considering suing Broadmoor Hospital, and was to consult with his solicitor, Kerry Macgill, before taking any action over the attack.

The investigation of the attack was headed by Det Insp Jamie Williamson, of the Thames Valley Police, and resulted in Ian Kay being charged with attempted murder. On January 27 1998, Kay was in Reading Crown Court, where he admitted the charge of attempting to murder Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper.

Mr Paul Reid, prosecuting, told the court that there was no history of hostility between Sutcliffe and Kay, "They came across each other because they both attended art therapy classes held weekly on the ward." They also bumped into each other during mealtimes. It is thought that the reason Kay launched his attack on Sutcliffe was because he wanted to become notorious among other patients and be respected and feared. Hospital nurses said that Kay also fancied himself as a leader in Broadmoor.

Ian Kay had stolen a razor blade, and he had originally meant to kill Peter Sutcliffe with the razor blade embedded in a toothbrush handle. His plan was foiled when staff found the blade missing. At the time Kay told the staff he had intended to commit suicide. Police later found out the truth. Kay told police: "I was going to ask for an envelope, walk into the room and cut his jugular vein on both sides and wait there until he was dead. Killing has always been in my mind, ever since I've been here [Broadmoor]. In hindsight I should have straddled him and strangled him with my bare hands."

The court was told that Kay had brought forward his plans for the attack on Sutcliffe because he was due to move wards. Mr Reid said that before he launched his 15-minute attack against Sutcliffe on March 10th, Kay had asked another patient to put on some loud music.

Mr. Reid said, "Prior to this attack, Kay had knocked on Sutcliffe's door and asked to borrow an envelope. Sutcliffe found one and gave it to him and that was the end of that. It was of no great surprise that Kay repeated this request at about 3:00 pm on March 10. Sutcliffe opened the door and Kay asked for an envelope. Sutcliffe turned to get one and as he turned back towards Kay, Kay immediately attacked him." Kay pinned Sutcliffe to the floor of his room, and then, "He stabbed him in the eyes with a Parker roller-ball pen."

Mr Reid told the court, "The defendant struck Sutcliffe five or six times deep into the left eye, and three or four times in the right eye. He only stopped when Sutcliffe managed to grab hold of the pen and push it away from him."

As well as the pen, Kay had gone into Sutcliffe's room with a piece of electrical flex and intended to strangle Sutcliffe with it. "I shut his door and attacked him. I started to stab him in the eyes and throttle him," he said. "My objective was to kill him, and I tried to do it as best as I could. I could not be bothered to use the flex in the end. I should have kneed him in the face a few times, straddled him across his body and throttled him with my bare hands."

When Kay left Sutcliffe's room after the attack, he slammed the door behind him and made his way up to the roof. Kay was seen covered in blood, including blood on his face and hands, and was restrained by several nurses. Other hospital staff raced to Sutcliffe's room where they found blood splattered on the wall and the bed. "Sutcliffe was leaning over the sink in his bathroom and he said 'I can't see. I think I'm blind'," said Mr Reid.

After the attack, Sutcliffe was taken to Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey where he received treatment by an eye specialist, who was unable to save the sight in Sutcliffe's left eye. Mr Reid said: "Even now he has restricted movement still in his right eye and his sight is very considerably diminished."

Kay was asked why he had launched the savage attack during interviews with psychiatrists. He told them, "Because it was the Devil's work. He said God told him to kill 13 women, and I say the Devil told me to kill him because of that." Kay also confided to a doctor that he had thought about killing the Yorkshire Ripper for some time. He stated, "He killed 13 women and deserved what happened to him."

Bill Clegg QC, for the defence, said that Kay's personality was "the product of a deeply disturbed mind. He is an extremely dangerous man, and that danger presents an obvious risk to the public". He asked that Kay continue to be detained in Broadmoor. "His illness plainly means he is in the best place at the moment," he added.

Mr Justice Keene, sentencing Kay to be detained without restriction of time under section 37 of the Mental Health Act 1983, told him: "You admitted your intention to kill him. It must cause some public concern that you were able to carry out such an attack. You are clearly a very dangerous man indeed. I'm satisfied you are suffering from a psychiatric disorder and that you ought to be detained in a hospital for medical treatment."

In March 1998 the family of Peter Sutcliffe appealed directly to the Home Secretary, Jack Straw, in a letter asking him to have Sutcliffe moved from Broadmoor to the secure unit at Ashworth Hospital in Liverpool, based on compassionate grounds. The family stated that the journey to Broadmoor, Berkshire, takes eight hours, and they have great difficulty visiting him. As well, Sutcliffe was still in the hospital at Broadmoor, since the prison had been unable to move him because it cannot give him another room.

Previous to the attack by Ian Kay, Sutcliffe had his own room and communal area. This had allowed him some independence. His room was given to another prisoner while he was being treated for the injuries he sustained.

The family of Peter Sutcliffe had, shortly after Ian Kay had been sentenced in January 1998, asked the authorities at Broadmoor for the move, but without result. The appeal to the Home Secretary also was without result.