Katie Piper 's life was transformed in an instant when an acid attack at the hands of thug Stefan Sylvestre left her permanently disfigured.

Stefan Sylvestre, 27, was jailed indefinitely in 2009 for throwing acid in Katie's face on the orders of her obsessed ex-boyfriend.

And since then, inspiration Katie has fought valiantly to rebuild her life, undergoing 40 surgeries and experiencing the joy of motherhood - something she feared may not be possible - with husband Richard James Sutton.

But after news that he could be freed within weeks if his latest parole hearing is a success, Katie took to social media to admit she was having trouble sleeping.

"Having problems sleeping tonight - going to try this," she wrote alongside a carton of Sleep Well milk.

In a now deleted post, she also reportedly posted a message that read, "God protect me from ANYTHING that wasn't sent by you."

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(Image: Twitter/@KatiePiper_)

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Sylvestre could be freed soon after serving just eight years of his sentence.

Having served the minimum term recommended by a judge, the Parole Board confirmed to Mirror Online that his legal team has applied for a parole hearing.

It has been scheduled for April, reports the Daily Mail, meaning he could be freed imminently if he manages to convince the board that he is no longer a danger to the public.

Katie, 33, declined to comment but spoke previously of her horror when Sylvestre applied for - and was refused - parole in 2015.

Describing the moment she received a letter saying her attacker was trying to change the terms of his sentence, she wrote in her autobiography: “It was hard to believe that the man who threw acid in my face had already served almost six years of his life sentence, or that he was eligible to apply for a change in the terms of his ­imprisonment.

“The two of them had taken so much from me, and now this man’s punishment might soon be over.

“I thought, ‘I’m the one with the life sentence. Not him. He can change his identity, change his name, get a new job, a partner, move on, but I can’t. I can’t pretend it didn’t happen because it’s all over my face’.”

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She added: “Dad reached for my hand and I could see tears falling from his cheeks. I knew I’d upset him but I couldn’t stop crying or shouting.

“‘There’s nothing I can do! Nothing anyone can do. No one’s going to listen to me and put them away for ever until I become a news story: ‘Acid girl killed by attackers’.

“I turned to Dad. ‘I wish I’d been burned in a house fire or a car accident,’ I said. ‘At least a fire wouldn’t come after me again, at least a fire wouldn’t have a score to settle’.”

Sylvestre attacked ex-model Katie with sulphuric acid in North London in 2008, acting on orders from her obsessed ex-boyfriend Daniel Lynch, 39.

Lynch was given a life sentence with a minimum of 16 years.

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Katie has been through 40 operations to treat her injuries and at one point wore a plastic face mask 23 hours a day.

In 2009, the TV star set up the Katie Piper Foundation to help victims of burns and disfigurements , with her surgeon Dr Mohammad Ali Jawad and X Factor host Simon Cowell as patrons.

She has found personal happiness too, marrying Richard James Sutton in 2015. The pair has two daughters.