The Yorkshire Ripper, who is serving a life sentence at Broadmoor Hospital, was seen in public for the first time in 34 years.

Peter Sutcliffe was allowed out of the high-security psychiatric hospital for an appointment at an eye clinic, where doctors are attempting to save his failing eye sight, the Sun on Sunday reports.

The 69-year-old was not handcuffed as he walked around outside Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey, reportedly sharing a joke with his security guards.

A witness said they were “shocked” to see the infamous serial killer walking in public outside the hospital wearing a beige coat, red trousers and black hat.

He told the Sun on Sunday: “Sutcliffe looked really calm and quite happy. It was a beautiful sunny day and he looked like an old man strolling to his allotment or something.”

Sutcliffe was convicted at the Old Bailey in 1981 for murdering 13 women and attempting to murder seven others. He was sentenced to serve 20 life sentences.

He committed the murders between 1975 and 1980 in the Yorkshire and Greater Manchester area. Many of his victims were prostitutes and Sutcliffe told authorities that "the voice of God" sent him on a mission to kill them.

In 1997, Sutcliffe suffered serious damage to his eyes after he was attacked with a pen by fellow Broadmoor patient Ian Kay.

At his trial, Sutcliffe pleaded not guilty to murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility owing to a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia.