The notorious serial killer Dennis Nilson cut a fellow prisoner’s throat in order to help him escape, it has emerged.

He convinced another inmate that if he attempted suicide, he would be sectioned and moved to a hospital, which would give him a greater chance of escaping.

The fellow inmate couldn’t go through with it in the end, which led Nilsen to take the knife and do it for him.

After the event, Steven Cook, who served 17 years for murder, then spent six months on a wing with Nilsen, who killed 12 boys and men in a five-year reign of terror. But didn’t know Nilsen’s identity until recently, reports the Daily Record.

The 46-year-old, who was released from Durham prison in 2012, said he met the man he knew as “Dessie” in 1994 in the hospital wing of the prison while on remand awaiting trial.

Cook was just 18 when he took part in a shocking attack during which victim Derek Lee was stabbed through the heart and blasted with a shotgun outside The Coxlodge pub in Newcastle.

He said he was struggling with mental health when Nilsen took him under his wing, who Cook said he liked how he was 'anti-authority'.

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Cook said he had been struggling with “what he had become”, felt remorse for his part in the murder, and that there was no chance at redemption for what he had done.

He said: “I was suicidal. I was totally disgusted with what I had become.

"Everything about me was wrong. In my mind, I had no chance at reform.

“Dessie told me that wasn’t true. He said there were prisons like Grendon, in Buckinghamshire, which could help people like me become good people.

“However, I still had my murder trial to deal with, facing the fiscal consequences of my actions, coming face to face with my victim’s family and facing the emotional consequences.

“I trusted Dessie and he told me he knew a way to escape from prison.

"All I needed to do was slash myself in a certain way and I could get sectioned to a mental hospital."

Cook added that to be on the 20-bed constant observation ward, prisoners had to be "really ill or suicidal".

The former inmate, who now lives in county Durham, said he couldn't bring himself to do it when it came down to the wire, so asked 'Dessie' to take on the task.

But Nilsen explained that they would have to work together to make it believable, where he slashed the right side of his throat and Cook was sectioned that night.

But when Cook's plan saw him escae St Luke's Hospital and return back to Durham prison hospital, Nilsen was gone, and "no one knew where" he went.

For emotional support, you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email [email protected], visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.

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