Singer Ian Watkins has reportedly been stabbed in jail while serving a 29-year sentence for child sex offences.

Prison Officers’ Association vice-chair Dave Todd, according to BBC, did not comment specifically about the attack on Watkins.

Todd said he was concerned for staff and prisoners over the rising number of incidents they are being exposed to in jails.

Watkins was sent to prison in 2013 for a string of child sex offences, including the attempted rape of a baby. He was sentenced to 29 years in jail with a further six years on licence, but he will be eligible for parole after serving two thirds of the prison term.

The disgraced rock star’s two co-defendants, the mothers of children he abused, were jailed for 14 and 17 years.

During sentencing, Justice Royce said the case broke “new ground” and “plunged into new depths of depravity”.

During the trial, Watkins admitted the attempted rape and sexual assault of a child under 13 but pleaded not guilty to rape. Judges rejected an appeal by Watkins in 2014 to reduce the length of his jail term.