A crime reporter has demanded a killer paedophile remains behind bars after revealing he is to be considered for release from his life sentence.

Manchester Evening News journalist John Scheerhout has called for Darren Vickers to stay locked up forever ahead of a scheduled parole hearing in February.

Bus driver Vickers sexually assaulted and murdered eight-year-old Jamie Levis in 1997, in what John, who covered the case at the time, has called “one of the most chilling child murders Greater Manchester has seen”.

The MEN splashed on the latest twist in the case yesterday, pictured, with John taking to Twitter to voice his outrage.

He wrote: “I covered this awful crime at the time – for what Darren Vickers did to that poor boy, he should never be released from prison.”

Vickers, now 56, “groomed and snatched” his victim after he boarded the bus he was driving.

In a story about the forthcoming hearing, John wrote: “A quarter of a century on, it remains one of the darkest days in Manchester’s criminal history, the awful crime compounded by what happened afterwards.

“Little Jamie’s parents hoped for the best but feared the worst when he went missing on a bank holiday Monday. His body would only be discovered two years later.

“In the days after Jamie vanished, murderer Darren Vickers wormed his way into his parents’ lives, playing the part of an innocent bus driver haunted by the knowledge that he was the last person to see the child before he went missing.

“Vickers fronted media appeals for the shattered family, going on TV to speak for them, urging the public to help find ‘missing’ Jamie, and taking part in searches which he knew were going nowhere.

“Incredibly, brazen Vickers even moved in with Mr and Mrs Lavis and slept in their bed, with couple offering to move onto the settee to accommodate him.

“It meant that the man who had tricked Jamie into staying on his bus all day, before sexually assaulting him and murdering him, could revel in the secret of his crime for months – while staying updated on the police investigation.”

A spokesman for the Parole Board told the MEN: “Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community.

“A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims.

“Members read and digest hundreds of pages of evidence and reports in the lead up to an oral hearing. Evidence from witnesses including probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officials supervising the offender in prison as well as victim personal statements are then given at the hearing.

“The prisoner and witnesses are then questioned at length during the hearing which often lasts a full day or more. Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.”