Image caption Dutroux had asked to be released into house arrest with an electronic tag

A Belgian court has rejected a request by convicted child killer Marc Dutroux for early release.

Dutroux, 56, was given a life sentence in 2004 for kidnapping and raping six girls, four of whom died, after being arrested in 1996.

He insisted he was no longer dangerous and wanted to be released into house arrest with an electronic tag.

His mother Jeannine Dutroux was among those who called on the courts to reject the request.

Under Belgian law, prisoners can be freed after serving 15 years of a life sentence if they are no longer considered a risk to the public.

But Mrs Dutroux told Le Soir Magazine: "This is a repeat offender in his soul, as he has already proved throughout his life."

In its ruling the court said there was an "absence of any prospect" that Dutroux could be reintegrated into society.

Dutroux was initially jailed in the 1980s, along with his now ex-wife Michelle Martin for kidnapping and raping five young girls.

Both were freed early on good behaviour - only to go on to abduct more young victims.

In 2004, Martin was convicted of being complicit in the deaths of two of Dutroux's later victims, who she allowed to starve to death.

She was released in August last year, after serving 16 years of her 30-year sentence, and now lives in a convent.