Moors murderer Myra Hindley is being treated by senior doctors for a potentially fatal brain condition after spending the night in hospital.

Hindley, 57, who is believed to be suffering from a cerebral aneurism, is said to be in a stable condition at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge. She was driven to the hospital on Thursday night from Highpoint Prison, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, where she is serving life.

Keith Day, administrative director at Addenbrooke's, said the prisoner had spent a comfortable night in a single room segregated from other patients.

"She was seen by the medical team early this morning and following a detailed consultation they have now agreed with her on the course of treatment they should follow," he said. "This is now taking place."

Mr Day would not give any details about the nature of the treatment being given to Hindley but he said it would last for around two hours.

It is believed that the killer is not having an operation.

Mr Day said Hindley was being treated in accordance with her "clinical priority" and stressed that her presence was not affecting the normal running of the hospital.

She is being guarded by warders from Highpoint and cared for by Addenbrooke's nursing staff.

He said the course of treatment she was undertaking was normal for the problem she had.

He refused to discuss her mood but said: "In general terms any patient who has to make a choice about potentially serious treatment is naturally concerned about what is happening."

He said decisions about further treatment and about how long Hindley would remain at Addenbrooke's would probably depend on the impact of the treatment she was currently undergoing.

It is the third time in recent weeks that Hindley has been admitted to hospital. She has twice been treated at the West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds after collapsing in her cell shortly after Christmas.

Tests by neuro-surgeons revealed the aneurism - a swelling of an artery at the base of the brain.

Hindley is understood to have been warned that the condition could cause her death if it is not treated in the near future.

The killer, who has spent 33 years in prison, has been dogged by ill health in recent years.

She suffers from angina, osteoporosis, high blood pressure and has been troubled by a fractured thigh which has refused to heal properly.

Her problems have been exacerbated by her heavy smoking - she is understood to smoke 40 cigarettes a day.

Brady also ill

Hindley and her former lover Ian Brady were given life sentences for the murders of 10-year-old Lesley Ann Downey and 17-year-old Edward Evans in May 1966.

Brady was also convicted of the murder of 12-year-old John Kilbride.

In 1987 the pair also confessed to having killed 16-year-old Pauline Reade and 12-year-old Keith Bennett.

Coincidentally Brady, 61, was taken to Fazakerley Hospital in Merseyside earlier this week after collapsing in his room at Ashworth high security hospital.

He has been on hunger strike for almost three months.