Rhys Jones' killer fears that Little Boy Blue will make him a 'dead man walking' in prison, it's been reported.
Last night ITV aired the first episode of the heart-breaking drama Little Boy Blue, which tells the true story of the murder of 11-year-old Rhys Jones in 2007.
Rhys was walking home from football practice in Liverpool when he was shot and killed by a stray bullet fired by gang member Sean Mercer. He died in mother's arms.
Rhys. Credit: PA
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Mercer, who was 16 at the time of the killing, is now serving a life-sentence in Frankland Prison, known as Monster Mansion, because it houses some of the UK's worst criminals. Other high-profile inmates at Franklands include Levi Bellfield and the Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe.
Mercer, who is now 26, is reportedly worried that the new drama will spark revenge attacks.
A prison source told the Daily Star: "Mercer cannot stand it. There are some real tough guys in Frankland and he is not one of them. It's a real 'Monster Mansion' and it's giving him nightmares.
"He hoped to slip under the radar because so few people knew the appalling thing he had done.
Rhys' parents Steve and Melanie. Credit: PA
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"He knows there will be no shortage of volunteers lining up to take a pop at him and is desperate for a move.''
Rhys' brave parents Stephen and Melanie said in a statement that they are fully behind the show.
They told the paper: "Our decision to get involved with Little Boy Blue stemmed principally from a desire to honour our son, Rhys, whom we lost ten years ago this year.
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Credit: ITV/Little Boy Blue
"It is very important to us, and our other son, Owen, to keep his memory alive and for people to understand how important he was to us. But beyond this we saw this as an opportunity to let the public see what happens to a family like ours in a situation like this.
"We wanted to show how the pressures we were placed under, the huge weight of grief thrust upon us, the endless waiting, not knowing if we would get justice for Rhys, can tear a family apart.
"We spoke very openly to the programme makers about what we went through because we wanted to let Sean Mercer and the others involved in Rhys' murder know that our sentence never ends."
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Source: The Daily Star
Featured Image Credit: PA