Convicted serial killer Charles Manson has been moved from prison and taken to hospital, according to reports from TMZ.

The 82-year-old Manson is seriously ill, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The website reported that Manson was transported to a hospital in Bakersfield, California, about an hour from California State Prison in Corcoran, where he was being held.

Manson, who was sentenced to life in prison, directed his mostly young, female followers – known as the Manson Family – to murder seven people in August 1969 in what prosecutors said was part of a plan to incite a race war between whites and blacks.

Manson was originally sentenced to death but was spared execution and his sentence converted to life in prison after the California Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional in that state.