According to reports, Child killer Ian Huntley is claiming he's going to get a sex change after dressing up in woman's clothes and pushing for a move to a female prison facility.

Huntley, notoriously known as the Soham murderer, hopes to leave HMP Frankland and start a new life as "Nicola" as he serves 40 years for killing 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, Daily Mail reports.

According to the Daily Star, the 44-year-old killer has asked his pen-pals to send him women's stockings and dresses for Christmas after telling inmates he's serious about getting a sex change operation.

Speaking to the newspaper, a source said: "He wants a tweed twin-set, a new dress, a blonde wig and what he calls some 'Christmas stockings'. He joined a Muslim gang in prison for protection but he was forced out after he started claiming that he wanted a sex change. Huntley believes that he will have a much cushier life in a women's prison. But he is mistaken as he will get a far harder time from female prisoners."

For the past year, Huntley has reportedly been wearing eyeliner in order to convince prison officials that he's very serious about switching genders. According to him, it is his legal right that staff at the maximum security County Durham facility address him as Nicola.

There is a rigorous psychological testing procedure in place for potential transgender inmates if they have to prove they truly want to go through with the surgery. While prison staff suspect his bid to undergo a sex change is merely a ploy to get protection or special treatment, the double killer has to be constantly monitored by prison officials as he's frequently targeted by other inmates.

Huntley has been assigned his own protection officer and spends large amounts of time in isolation after an attempt on his life by armed robber Damien Fowkes back in 2010. However, he is yet to make a formal request to the governor about having a sex change, despite his claims.

In August 2002, Holly and Jessica were murdered by Huntley at his home in Soham, Cambridgeshire, when the duo went on a walk to a nearby sweet shop during a family barbecue. After a long search that lasted nearly a fortnight, their bodies were recovered around 14 miles away in a ditch near Lakenheath, Suffolk.

After a full court hearing in 2003, Huntley was sentenced to two life terms with a minimum of 40 years at the maximum security Frankland prison in Durham. According to reports, he has now admitted to killing Jessica in order to prevent her from raising an alarm after Holly died in his bath, which he claims was accidental.