Grantham victim of Beverley Allitt fears she may return for her if released soon

The family of a victim of killer nurse Beverley Allitt say their daughter fears being attacked by her again if she is freed.

Kayley Asher, now 31, was attacked by the former nurse at Grantham Hospital and suffered brain damage.

Allitt was given 13 life sentences in 1993 for killing four babies and harming nine other children in her care.

The 52-year-old, who was brought up in Corby Glen, is being held at Rampton high security ­psychiatric hospital, but her minimum sentence tariff of 30 years expires in November and if she is deemed fit to transfer to a prison she will have the right to apply for parole.

Kayley’s dad Alan, 64, said his daughter often asks: ‘Will she come and get me?” He added: "Kayley looks under her bed and in her wardrobe for Allitt. This can go on for days and days and often we find her in the early hours of the morning searching.

"A few years back Kayley spent three weeks in hospital and we could see there was a nurse she really didn’t like.

"When she got home she told us she thought it was Allitt.

"I could see the ­resemblance, she had been terrified all that time.

"It’s scary to think Allitt could one day be free.

"A whole life tariff would have been appropriate. I can’t see the ­difference between her and Peter Sutcliffe. We have a genuine fear if she is freed she could walk into our lives one day.

"We are also worried about the ­possibility she would be given a new identity like Jamie Bulger’s killers.

"Despite the passage of time a lot of people are still very angry so there’s no telling what could happen to her.

"The only way to guarantee her safety would be a new identity and that would leave us looking over our shoulders."

Kayley, who lives in Grantham with her parents, was 15 months old when Allitt tried to kill her by injecting a potentially fatal air bubble under the toddler’s arm.

Kayley suffered two heart attacks and permanent brain damage. She was later diagnosed with the rare condition kabuki makeup syndrome, meaning she has problems with fine motor skills, mobility and hearing.

Allitt, who suffered from Munchausen’s by proxy, injected youngsters with air, insulin or other drugs over a 59 day period.

In 2007 the appeal court ruled Allitt should serve a minimum of 30 years – less one year and 190 days spent in custody pre-sentence.

Alan added: "When the 30 year minimum sentence was given we felt the punishment was good. But now that deadline is on the horizon we will fight any attempt to release her."

In 2016, Kayley won a long battle to get her benefits reinstated after she was told to repay thousands of pounds because it was said she had too much money saved up as a result of the compensation she received.

Alan, a former Mayor of Grantham, was told last year that he could lose his voice permanently, months after being diagnosed with coronavirus.