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 BBC Wales's Louise Elliot"The trial judge recommended that Hughes should never be released."  real 28k  |
Child killer sues for compensation
Hughes was jailed for the murder of seven-year-old Sophie Hook
Child killer Howard Hughes is seeking compensation for time he spent at a care home in north Wales.
Hughes - who was jailed for life in 1996 for the murder of seven-year-old Sophie Hook at Llandudno - is understood to have lodged a claim for £50,000.
He is claiming damages for alleged abuse while he was in the care of the Bryn Estyn home in Wrexham.
Hughes - who was jailed for life in 1996 for the murder of seven-year-old Sophie Hook at Llandudno - is understood to have lodged a claim for £50,000.
He is claiming damages for alleged abuse while he was in the care of the Bryn Estyn home in Wrexham.
 Sophie Hook was abducted from her uncle's back garden
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The former home figured prominently in the Waterhouse report into child abuse in north Wales children's homes, unearthing the biggest scandal of its kind in the UK.
It recommended a massive overhaul of the care system after uncovering a paedophile ring that targeted hundreds of young people in care in the 70s and 80s.
It was during the 1980s that Hughes, born in Colwyn Bay, was a resident at Bryn Estyn and he is apparently claiming compensation for personal injuries while there.
It recommended a massive overhaul of the care system after uncovering a paedophile ring that targeted hundreds of young people in care in the 70s and 80s.
It was during the 1980s that Hughes, born in Colwyn Bay, was a resident at Bryn Estyn and he is apparently claiming compensation for personal injuries while there.
 The former Bryn Estyn children's home
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A spokesman for Flintshire County Council confirmed that a claim had been received from Hughes.
It has now been passed to the Zurich Insurance Company which is handling claims on behalf of the former Clwyd County Council.
Hughes is serving a life sentence after he was convicted of snatching the Cheshire schoolgirl from a tent where she had been sleeping in her uncle's garden in Llandudno in 1995.
Her body was found washed up on a nearby beach in Craig-y-Don, near Llandudno, the morning she disappeared.
She had been raped and strangled.
It has now been passed to the Zurich Insurance Company which is handling claims on behalf of the former Clwyd County Council.
Hughes is serving a life sentence after he was convicted of snatching the Cheshire schoolgirl from a tent where she had been sleeping in her uncle's garden in Llandudno in 1995.
Her body was found washed up on a nearby beach in Craig-y-Don, near Llandudno, the morning she disappeared.
She had been raped and strangled.
 Sophie Hook's body was found in Llandudno
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Christine Jones, who represents the Craig-y-Don area on Conwy County Borough Council, said she was very sad to see Hughes in the limelight once more.
"I am extremely saddened that this issue has raised its ugly head again," she said.
"It was quite a traumatic time for people in the area and to have it raised again by this man is diabolical.
"He is not going to get a lot of sympathy from people around here. Clearly, anyone who has been abused at Bryn Estyn has to be treated the same but I do not think the abuse was in any way the cause of what he did to Sophie Hook."
"I am extremely saddened that this issue has raised its ugly head again," she said.
"It was quite a traumatic time for people in the area and to have it raised again by this man is diabolical.
"He is not going to get a lot of sympathy from people around here. Clearly, anyone who has been abused at Bryn Estyn has to be treated the same but I do not think the abuse was in any way the cause of what he did to Sophie Hook."
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