NOTORIOUS serial killer Fred West could have killed his first victims in Scotland. Fred West was charged with 12 murders, but took his own life in a Birmingham prison before his trial. West was born in 1941 in Much Marcle, Herefordshire, in rough, rural poverty. Those ads you do see are predominantly from local businesses promoting local services. And that West had promised the boy a present and told him to wait in a small cul-de-sac. "Most normal men would have stopped their vans and told me to get off. West kept an allotment in nearby Gower Street, growing a few potatoes and cabbages and also keeping the soil freshly turned over. "Directly after West comes back to England we know he starts killing people and cutting their bodies into pieces before burying them. On November 22, 1995, Rose West was convicted of 10 murders and sentenced to life in prison. The majority of West's murders were carried out at his home at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester. "West looked and sounded sounded like one of Ken Dodd's diddymen who were on television at the time. However, when the van pulled up, the monster reversed into the tot and killed him instantly. Tom McGougan, who lived only yards from the scene, gave his account of the incident in 1998. 1994 – February 23: Gloucester magistrates give police … Fred West fled for his life from “razor gangs” in Glasgow when they discovered that he was a paedophile. Something which Colin personally witnessed. "When West arrived in the Gorbals, he was treated as a joke by kids like us, particularly with his broad Gloucester accent. Rose was convicted of 10 murders, including that of her daughter, and sentenced to life. Do you have a story or video for The Scottish Sun? They later moved to Glasgow. He said at the time:"West had a piece of ground which was always well-dug but which he never put any plants in. " We pay for your stories and videos! Colin added: “It was like a scene from a cowboy movie when the bad guy gets run out of town. Colin, then ten, jumped on to West's ice cream van but ended up in hospital for several days when the serial killer suddenly drove off at high speed. Serial killer couple Fred and Rose West could have killed at least 18 more victims than the dozen already known about. Are you sure you want to delete this comment? Fred and Rose West are said to have more victims buried in Glasgow (Image: SWNS.COM) The killer and his second wife ­Rosemary were arrested in 1994. A Gannett Company. Fred West took his own life in prison before he could stand trial (Handout/PA) Speaking in 2014, he had called on Rose West to say what happened to his sister. When the child went to retrieve it, West reversed over him at high speed. McFall, who was only 18, became Fred’s lover but in July 1967 she vanished after falling pregnant. "He sometimes did not return from the allotment until the early hours of the morning. Biography writer Howard Sounes said in 2013: "The police looked into the disappearance of a number of young girls but by then the allotments were buried underneath concrete at the junction of the M8 and the M77. metro.co.uk - Holly Willoughby was left in disbelief on This Morning after an expert speculated that there could be dozens of undiscovered Fred West victims. 8h Glasgow protesters rejoice as men freed after immigration van standoff ... Mary’s disappearance in 1968 was at a time when Fred West, who often did jobs in … For example, four young women who matched the profile of Fred’s victims disappeared during his time living in Glasgow. Her skeletal remains, with the remains of her unborn baby, were found in a field at Kempley, near Fred West’s home village of Much Marcle. 22 May 1963. Fred West is known to have killed at least 12 women and ran over a young boy in Glasgow before moving to Gloucester As a result the … The site at The Clean Plate café will now be excavated after forensic archaeologists identified several structural anomalies in the cellar. “West was lucky that day to survive. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. The Gloucester man was eventually chased out of Glasgow by a razor-wielding lynch mob for sexually assaulting the young sister of a gang leader. SERIAL killer Fred West was chased out of Scotland by a razor-wielding lynch mob after abusing the 12-year-old sister of a notorious gang leader, according to a TV documentary. Data returned from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback event. At that time local youths would jump on the back of moving vans and lorries for quick thrills - called a Hudgie. The crowd was going to lynch him.". West had promised the boy a present and told him to wait in a small cul-de-sac. He had received a tip-off from a man who worked in a Glasgow abattoir with Rena Costello. – Catherine ‘Rena’ Costello: Fred West’s first wife – and his second victim – left him for the last time in 1969.Fred was by now having an affair with 15-year-old Rosemary Letts, who subsequently became his wife. FRED West murdered his first victims in Scotland, a Hollywood scriptwriter claims. If you are dissatisfied with the response provided you can contact IPSO here. "There was something not quite right about him. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. Fred West Was Our Ice Cream Man Author Colin MacFarlane was born in Glasgow's Gorbals in 1955. ", Colin and his pals suspected that West was also using his van for a more sinister purpose, to abuse young girls. Fred West took his own life in prison while awaiting trial for murder (Gloucestershire Police/PA) The detective said there was conflicting evidence during the original House of Horrors inquiry as to whether West had carried out renovation work at the cafe in 1968 or later, in 1976. Fred West’s murders have returned to the spotlight after police announced they were searching for one of his potential victims in a Gloucester cafe. ©Copyright 2001-2021. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click here. ... Glasgow … Paul Pender, 65, fears the serial killer buried slain women’s bodies in an allotment while living in Glasgow … Police have been urged to investigate claims that the serial killer Fred West murdered a three-year-old boy in Glasgow more than 50 years ago.Paul Pender, a screenwriter, has said there is evidence Experts believe West could have started killing in Scotland, Cops hunt gunman after double shooting in Birmingham leaves two in hospital, Breakfast TV show pranked into wishing happy anniversary to serial killers Fred & Rose West, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). If you have a complaint about the editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then please contact the editor here. Rena — one of West's 12 known victims — was murdered by him four years later in the same location. Fred and Rose West carried out some of the most shocking and horrific murders this country has ever witnessed. He said: "There was an angry mob and they didn't believe West's story that it was an accident. View our online Press Pack. Colin added:"After the gang incident West disappeared and we never saw him in the Gorbals again. And evil West lived in Glasgow for a time in the 1960s and was involved in the death of a three-year-old boy while driving an ice cream van in the Castlemilk area. Get involved with the news in your community, This website and associated newspapers adhere to the Independent Press Standards Organisation's Editors' Code of Practice. He told Sky News at the time: “I think Rose knows exactly what happened to Mary because I assume she and Fred discussed it between themselves. He feared West may also have murdered other women, suggesting their remains may have been buried on his allotment. It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. News Corp is a network of leading companies in the worlds of diversified media, news, education, and information services. West, from Gloucester, had arrived in the city two years earlier after marrying his pregnant girlfriend Rena Costello, a Glaswegian. It … Charmaine Carol Mary West born in Coatbridge to Rena West. Fred and … It was November 1965 and behind the wheel was Englishman Fred West. The writer told one newspaper: "The allotment is buried under concrete, but who knows what imaging equipment might reveal beneath?". By 1960, Fred West was already known to the police for his involvement in various petty crimes. He grew up on the same street that fictional razor king … The story of Fred West working as an ice-cream van man in Glasgow and how he was chased out by the cumbie. HP10 9TY | 01676637 | Registered in England & Wales. As a subscriber, you are shown 80% less display advertising when reading our articles. ", READ MORE: Glasgow Crime Stories: Young victim Diane McInally found by dog walker in park undergrowth. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . This site is part of Newsquest's audited local newspaper network. Fred claimed he was introduced to sex by his mother at 12 - and said he believed in incest because his father had sex with Fred's sisters. Mary’s body was not found during the 1994 excavation of the West’s home, now known as the “House of Horrors”, on Cromwell Street in Gloucester. "I think the same thing happened in Castlemilk. Pender said at the time: "When Fred would visit the abattoir he would apparently ask lots of questions about how to use all the bits of the carcass and was fascinated by the dismemberment process. But did West first develop his taste for killing in Glasgow? Fred West committed suicide awaiting trial for 12 murders in January 1995. "He was even nodding and smiling when he sped off with me lying on the ground. Usually large vehicles would have steps and handles that they could hold on to. "Unbelievably Fred West our ice cream man had become Fred West, the mass murderer.". He took up some work as a construction worker, but was soon chucked out when he was caught stealing and having sex with minors. Fred West: Wife Rose could be questioned over missing Mary Bastholm The teenager was a waitress at the cafe, then called the Pop In, and builder West, who was 26 at the time, was a regular. Neighbour John McLachlan first revealed the suspicions about the Kinning Park allotment in 1995, just days after Rose West's conviction. "Nobody knows what he was up to in that allotment, he sure as hell wasn't gardening. West was a frequent visitor and became fascinated with the dismemberment of carcasses, according to Rena's former colleague. Fred West was employed as a driver with a local icecream company. All the victims were young women. The gang attacked the van with knives, razors, bricks and hatchets but West managed to escape. Could West, who dismembered many of his victims, have learnt butchery skills at the same city slaughterhouse? Pender, who wrote and produced the 2002 film Evelyn, starring Pierce Brosnan, suspects that Henry may have seen something that compromised West, leading the killer to silence him. West moved to Glasgow in 1963 after marrying Rena, who hailed from the city. "Given what happened to myself and Henry, I now realise West was a psychopath who killed just for the pleasure of it. Many were expertly chopped up and buried in his garden. READ MORE: Glasgow Crime Stories: The beasts of the Bluebell Woods and their victim Alison Murray. 15-year-old Mary Bastholm, who went missing in 1968, worked at the café when it was known as … THE desperate search for Moira Anderson has reignited fears about the lost Scottish victims of serial killer Fred West - who knew the two paedophiles linked to her disappearance. The story of Fred West working as an ice-cream van man in Glasgow and how he was chased out by the cumbie The young mothers racing out of their homes screamed in horror when they saw the boy's legs sticking out from under an ice-cream van. He was suspected of abusing children … DETECTIVES searching a café for a suspected victim of notorious serial killer Fred West are going to dig up six “anomalies” found in the building. He told the Glasgow Times:"West had been going really slowly down Thistle Street in the Gorbals looking to sell a cone or two. Could his first murder victim have been young Henry or other women who went missing around that time? "This is within months of him being in Glasgow, so it wouldn't be mad to suggest that he started earlier and killed his first victims in Scotland.". MacFarlane said it was a reflection of how tough the Gorbals was that Fred West was the local ice cream man. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. Fred West committed suicide awaiting trial for 12 murders in January 1995. West killed 12 people between 1967 and 1987 — including Rena. By 1965, he had become a familiar sight in the south side of the city, particularly the Gorbals, as he toured in his ice cream van often late into the evening. West lived with Rena and her daughter Charmaine at Maclellan Street, in Glasgow's Kinning Park. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. "But then he was wee Fred who the kids all laughed at. "I instantly recognised Wee Fred 30 years later when his photograph appeared in the newspapers and on TV. West's Glaswegian wife at the time was one of his known victims. But when the van pulled up, West reversed into the child, killing him instantly. One of her murders included Rena's daughter Charmaine in 1971. In 1961, when he impregnated a 13-year-old girl who was a friend of the West family, he was thrown out of the house. "I told the police and said they should check up on missing girls from that period. "This is within months of him being in Glasgow, so it wouldn't be mad to suggest that he started earlier and killed his first victims in Scotland.". A production company filming a documentary contacted Gloucestershire Police with possible evidence. The gang leader had said he planned to cut his head off.”. Howard Sounes, who wrote the biography Fred & Rose, said in 2013:"The police looked into the disappearance of a number of young girls but by then the allotments were buried underneath concrete at the junction of the M8 and the M77. His mother Daisy took his virginity when he was 12. I asked him several times why he did not use that bit for potatoes and he always said he was keeping it for 'special purposes'. The monster and wife Rose abducted, tortured, raped and murdered young women over 20 years - and buried many of them under the floorboards of their home at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester. Police treated Henry's death as accident but the local people were not too sure. – Catherine ‘Rena’ Costello: Fred West’s first wife – and his second victim – left him for the last time in 1969.Fred was by now having an affair with 15-year-old Rosemary Letts, who subsequently became his wife. And experts think that his killing spree could have started north of the border. He was arrested in 1994 with second wife Rose but took his own life in jail a year later, aged 53. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. He saw a chance to kill the young boy and did it.". These adverts enable local businesses to get in front of their target audience – the local community. Rose was convicted of 10 murders, including that of her daughter, and sentenced to life. Lying dead in the middle of the road in Glasgow's Castlemilk was three-year-old Henry Feeney. The family moved to Gloucester in 1966 and one of Rena’s friends, Ann McFall, later joined them. Rena — one of West’s 12 known victims — was murdered by the beast in 1971. Serial killers Fred and Rose West A writer is urging police in Scotland to investigate claims that serial killer Fred West murdered a child in Glasgow … "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. Fred West is said to have confessed to killing Mary in conversation with his son, Stephen, but never admitted it to police. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). The brute's first known murder was lover Anne McFall in 1967 in his home village of Much Markle in Herefordshire. – June: Fred and Rosemary West murder Heather West at 25 Cromwell Street. For other inquiries Contact Us. Bestselling author Colin MacFarlane, author of childhood memoirs such as Gorbals Diehards and The Real Gorbals Story, says he could easily have ended up as one of Fred West's earliest victims. Frederick Walter Stephen West (29 September 1941 – 1 January 1995) was an English serial killer who committed at least twelve murders between 1967 and 1987 in Gloucestershire, the majority with his second wife, Rosemary West. Police have found “possible evidence” that a body could be buried beneath a Gloucester café linked to serial killer Fred West. Pender became convinced West began his murder spree in Scotland and deliberately killed young Henry in November 1965. "Then when I jumped on the back he just put the foot down and drove off very quickly. Henry's father Peter ran 150 yards from his home to find his son under the van. "Directly after West comes back to England we know he starts killing people and cutting their bodies into pieces before burying them. Pender believed West lured the boy using a small ball which he then claimed was stuck under a hedge behind the van. "He was always boasting about his exploits with women, even claiming that pop star Lulu was his girlfriend "Being from the Gorbals, we could tell most of his stories were fantasy. "This is quite alarming, knowing the lengths he went to when dismembering his victims.". Fred West is said to have confessed to killing Mary in conversation with his son, Stephen, but never admitted it to police. West worked as a builder and in the early 1960s he lived in Glasgow, where he married Rena Costello and had two children, Charmaine and Anne Marie. Mary Bastholm, 15, … In 1961, he was accused of impregnating a 13-year-old girl who was a friend of the Wests. They had previously lived in Coatbridge and then moved to a flat in Savoy Street, Bridgeton. In 2018 Glasgow born Hollywood Screen writer Paul Pender publicly urged police to reopen the Henry Feeney case. The Glasgow Times reports that cops treated young Henry Feeney's death as an accident. The young mothers racing out of their homes screamed in horror when they saw the boy's legs sticking out from under an ice-cream van. Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. He added:"Can you imagine doing something as simple as going for an ice cream and Fred West is dishing out the 99's? Email us at scoop@thesun.co.uk or call 0141 420 5300, Edinburgh police car ploughs into motor and garden wall during street chase, Celtic chief Lawwell returns to fire-ravaged home after blaze attack, Celtic fan ‘spewing’ as he wore Gers top to work after losing title bet, Man seen pouring accelerant on cars before fire at Celtic chief Lawwell's home, ©News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. Instead West moved to Gloucester — and set out on a murder spree that would make him one of the most notorious serial killers in criminal history. It was November 1965 and behind the wheel was Englishman Fred West. Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. "My pals saw what happened and said West had tried to kill me. Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Her skeletal remains, with the remains of her unborn baby, were found in a field at Kempley, near Fred West’s home village of Much Marcle. We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments. Newsquest Media Group Ltd, Loudwater Mill, Station Road, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.