28 February 2024 , 11:27
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Fred West had direct access to a network of 'secret' tunnels near his home - that he could have used to carry out and cover up his crimes, it has been claimed.
The serial killer is said to have had detailed knowledge of the complex 'underground world' beneath Gloucester that has been shrouded in secrecy for decades. Urban explorers have uncovered evidence that is believed to show 22 miles of interconnected tunnels passing through many of its major sights. Some of the subterranean chambers are just yards away from the so-called House of Horrors in Cromwell Street when Fred West lived.
West is also known to have had contracts to carry out works across the city that would have given him access to the network, locals claim. Despite this, some authorities have refused to acknowledge their existence - with some speculating there is concern it would open a 'huge can of worms' in relation to the infamous killers. West was charged with 12 murders but took his own life in prison in 1995, aged 53, before his trial. Rose West was convicted of 10 murders in November 1995 and is serving a life sentence.
One long serving council employee, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity, said: "There are a lot of people high up that are very, very twitchy about the tunnels. There are plenty of reasons for it too, but I'm pretty sure the main one is to do with Fred West. He did a lot of work under the city a lot of work. And it's anyone's guess what could be down there. It's a can of worms, and no one wants to touch it."
One of the tunnels under Gloucester (GlosParanormalInvestigSVC/SWNS)Speculation was heightened among the community in May 2021, when the Clean Plate Cafe on Southgate Street saw extensive excavations take place in its basement as part of an investigation into the unsolved disappearance of local girl, Mary Bastholm in January 1968. Fred West was said to have been contracted to carry out various building and construction work in the basement of the cafe, and previous excavations at that site.
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In the 1990s during the police investigation into the Wests, some blue fabric and part of a school exercise book were recovered from a hidden space behind a wall in the basement of the cafe, believed by many to have belonged to Mary. However, when the area was re-examined by investigators in 2021, it was found that in the intervening years, the void had been mysteriously backfilled, preventing any further investigation of the site.
And local speculation about the potential dark secrets being contained within the tunnels mounted again when a recent storm exposed a sinkhole in the city. The so-called House of Horrors in Cromwell Street, which has since been demolished, was located just a couple of minutes walk away from known entrances to the 'underground world' in Eastgate. There are other multiple locations believed to access it, including the Cross Keys, the Fleece Bar, the Monks Retreat and around the cathedral.
One local added: "We know back in the 80s Fred West had the contract to do building maintenance work and had access to it." Another explorer even said they had visited the tunnel from a bar's basement close to where Fred was known to have done work and felt the ground change to a 'spongy' surface at one point. They said: "We went down there and it opened up into a massive cellar. We noticed a spongy floor at the end of the tunnel by jumping up and down on it."
"We did not know much about Fred West connections to the place, but it felt like there was something under that ground. We were looking at going back but it was set on fire and you can not get into it anymore. We thought it was odd but it was only when we mentioned it later to someone in authority, they turned white. It was then feared Fred West could have used it for bodies."
Police at The Clean Plate cafe, Gloucester in May 2021 (SWNS)Locals say that in places entrances have been blocked up, with some speculating the city is trying to "whitewash" its associations with Fred and Rose West. One said: "They don't want this place under the glare or spotlight and a lot of this has been managed. People don't want our city to be most famous for Fred West but you can not escape what has happened."
"You can not whitewash history and pretend it never happened. It is still so shrouded in mystery. How can authorities deny the tunnels exist when so many people have seen them? Everyone knows they are there. Whatever the reason only fuels the local speculation. Entrances are blocked up but if there is nothing to be seen, then let us down there."
"A lot of cities have tunnels, it is not usual, but why are Gloucester's shrouded in secrecy." Another local said the police excavations of the Clean Plate Cafe added extra weight to the theory. They added: "No one knows when it happened, but there are a lot of question marks, about when it was bricked up. It must have been a coordinated effort to close it all up. Maybe that was Fred's job to seal up the tunnels and he used it to hide or put things away."
"It is all speculation but it has to be on the table as a possibility. The fact in Gloucester we can not have an open conversation makes it all the more unnerving. What are people afraid of? I think it will all be exposed and happen naturally. One of the tunnels will collapse."
Paul Cowmeadow, of Gloucester Paranormal Investigation Services, said they wouldn't comment on anything related to Fred West, but said the presence of the tunnels was not in doubt. He said: "There are rumoured to be over 22 miles of tunnels under the city of Gloucester, which would make sense based on the publicly known archaeology of the city dating back to the Roman times."
Bricked up tunnels under Gloucester which it's claimed that Fred West could have used (GlosParanormalInvestigSVC/SWNS)"There are entrances to the tunnel network from the cellars of several pubs in the town centre and we've seen them. The Fleece Hotel, which is now closed, has got an entrance in the basement that goes into a tunnel that's been bricked up and it seemed to be heading under Westgate Street in the direction of the cathedral. It's also well-known that there are old tunnels in the Cafe Rene bar on Southgate Street.
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"It's believed that the tunnel system was used for several purposes over the centuries, ranging from smuggling, to the English Civil War, and then later in World War Two it is rumoured that the secret services and military also made use of them." Spencer Marsh, owner of Spalite Hotel, said he believes there's evidence of a tunnel hotel in his basement.
He said: "We have a tunnel entrance in the basement of the hotel here. It's anyone's guess where it leads, because it's blocked off and you can't get very far down." And during a previous tour of the tunnels back in 2019, Westgate councillor Pam Tracey described the tunnel network as "far more extensive than I could have imagined." She said at the time: "I think it would be ideal to open up the tunnels to the public, however I think some of the areas should be left, because goodness knows what they would find."
Geoffrey Mansell, best selling Fred West biographer, said it was a possibility the killer used the tunnels - but it was unlikely to ever be proven. He said: "There are many places he stored bodies, whether in tunnels in Gloucester or other sites, we will probably never know. But he was innovative in disposing of his victims. It is certainly possible. I can not say I ever heard in any police interview with Fred or Rose, and I have listened to them all, that there was any documentation or references made to tunnels in Gloucester.
"But it is possible and nothing would surprise me when it comes to Fred West. He was an odd job man, builder, worked on the motorways - he did all sorts of things. He liked being busy and dashing about. He was difficult to pin down. Targeting the tunnels of Gloucester wasn't something that came up - but he may have done it. He was more opportunistic though.
Fred West (SWNS)"It was once memorably put to me by a police officer that you can not dig up the entire county of Gloucestershire in a search for more bodies. I don't think we'll ever fully know what Fred did, beside the ones we already know about. It is likely there are many more victims.
"I would certainly be interested in any new developments as would anyone who has spent as much time on the case as I have. But it is a question of police time and resources and I certainly would not be demanding police explore all the tunnels. There is always a lot of speculation about this site and that site.
"If I knew I would certainly be talking about it. It always comes up every time, and in many ways inevitable. But the mystery of Fred West won't be solved - probably ever. He was a monster in plain sight in our midst. He could operate absolutely beneath everyone's radar. No-one took him seriously - but he was very serious and very dangerous."
"He had a lot of experience labouring in one form or another - knocking things down, digging holes and was not afraid of hard labour. He enjoyed it and it was all part of his personality and character. But I don't know if he knew there were tunnels. He may well might have but everything I've heard or read there has not been a mention of the tunnels. That is not to say he did not use or take advantage of it."
"The point is it has always been a mystery about where the other victims were, who knew, where they are buried - it is one of the fascinations of the case. We will never get to the complete bottom of it - it is one of those that will go on and on."