The teenager who murdered schoolboy Rhys Jones has been attacked in jail.

The teenager who murdered schoolboy Rhys Jones has been attacked in jail.

Sean Mercer, 18, was assaulted at Moorland Prison in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, but the incident was stopped by the "timely intervention" of staff.

A Prison Service spokeswoman said: "We can confirm an incident took place at HMP Moorland at 2.30pm on Saturday, December 27, in which two prisoners assaulted each other. The incident lasted less than two minutes and was quickly resolved by the timely intervention of staff."

Later the Prison Service said the prisoners involved in the incident, in the communal area of the jail, received only minor injuries and did not require hospital treatment.

Last month Mercer, of Croxteth, Liverpool, was jailed for life and was told he would serve a minimum of 22 years behind bars.

Mercer, a Croxteth Crew gang member, fired three shots across the car park of the Fir Tree pub in Croxteth on August 22, 2007.

His targets were rival Strand Gang members who had arrived on his turf but one of the shots hit innocent victim Rhys, 11, who was walking home from football training. He died in the arms of his mother, Melanie.