Paedophile singer Gary Glitter is moved to island jail which houses some of Britain's most depraved sex offenders

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Gary Glitter, 71, jailed for 16 years in February for abusing children as young as eight, has been moved to a jail for sex offenders on the Isle of Wight

Paedohpile singer Gary Glitter has been moved to an island jail which houses some of the country's most depraved sex offenders.

The former glam rock star is believed to be serving his sentence in Albany prison, on the Isle of Wight, which is one of eight jails in the country dedicated solely to sex offenders.

Glitter was jailed for 16 years back in February for having sex with a 12-year-old fan, attempting to rape an eight-year-old and indecent assault.

According to The Sun, Glitter spent a month after being jailed at Wandsworth prison in South London, which is the largest in the UK and also one of the toughest.

Last month a murder investigation was launched there after one inmate, in his 60s, was found dead inside his cell.

After his stay in Wandsworth, Glitter, whose real name is Paul Gadd, was transferred to High Down, Surrey, where he allegedly fell foul of other criminals for receiving preferential treatment.

In April, it was reported that Glitter had been forced to pay three fellow prisoners to act as his bodyguards by giving them tobacco.

The singer apparently irritated other inmates after being given his own cell, allowed to skip work duty, handed his medication first and treated better than others by the guards.

Albany prison, once its own separate jail, is now part of HMP Isle of Wight after being linked to two other sites, HMP Parkhurst and HMP Camp Hill, which was closed in 2013.

The jail now houses approximately 1,100 inmates who are described on the Ministry of Justice website as being 'vulnerable sex offenders'.

The Albany (pictured) is located on the Isle of Wight and houses 'vulnerable sex offenders'. Despite being a male-only jail it has a female dress code, because around 35 inmates live as women

Unusually for a male-only prison, it has a female dress code which forbids wearing underwired bras or thongs because so many of the inmates are thought to be living as women.

Up to 35 prisoners in the jail dress as women, according to the Daily Mirror, with staff given specialist training in how to deal with them.

In a report to the Independent Monitoring Board, prison authorities even recommended hiring a women's hairdresser especially for the group.

Among the offenders locked away there is Colin Blanchard, 44, who was described in court as the centre of a 'warped, wicked and dangerous' paedophile ring.

Blanchard was jailed indefinitely in 2011 after a court heard he manipulated nursery workers into taking pictures of themselves abusing children, before sending them to him for his own gratification.

William Goad, one of the most prolific pedophiles in British legal history, also died there in 2012.

Goad was jailed in 2004 for using his money and influence in order to lure young boys into his clutches before sexually abusing them.

In total, he is thought to have abused 3,500 youngsters, once boasting that he attacked 132 in a single year.

Among the inmats at Albany is Colin Blanchard, 44 (left), jailed in 2011 for convincing nursery workers to abuse children and send him pictures. William Goad, 68 (right), who abused 3,500 children, died there in 2012

The Ministry of Justice confirmed that Glitter has been moved from his previous jail, but would elaborate on the reasons behind the move.

Last month, Southwark Crown Court - where Glitter was jailed earlier this year - confirmed the 71-year-old had launched an appeal bid against his conviction.

The case is at an early stage and no hearing dates have been set. If he is granted permission to appeal, High Court judges will assess Glitter's claim.