HORROR FIND
I found human hand and arm in hidden labyrinth of tunnels…and was interviewed by Fred and Rose West cops
Claims discovery was linked to notorious serial killer
A WORKER who found a human hand and arm in a hidden labyrinth of tunnels was interviewed by police investigating the crimes of Fred and Rose West.
Fred and Rose West tortured and raped numerous women over a 20 year period in Gloucester.
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There are 12 known victims, with the couple jointly charged with 10 murders and Fred West charged with a further two.
22-mile network of tunnels
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.
Now a former worker has told of how he made a horrific discovery in the network of tunnels where West is thought to have prowled.
He said:"My claim to fame was in 1989. Found a human hand and arm in a tunnel in Gloucester.
"Got interviewed by CID and got connected to Fred and Rose West mass murders."
My claim to fame was in 1989. Found a human hand and arm in a tunnel in Gloucester
Tunnel worker
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.
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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.
Officials are twitchy about the tunnels
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.
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."
Fred West was said to have been contracted to carry out various building and construction work in the basement of the café, and previous excavations at that site.
Spencer Marsh is the owner of the Spalite Hotel on Spa Road in Gloucester, and he believes there's evidence of a tunnel entrance in his basement.
He added: "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.
"There's another weird hole on the other side of the basement that seems to go through into a void, but it's hard to see what's behind there."
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.
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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.
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Killed by depravity - Fred and Rose West's known victims
The list of the couple's known victims who were found buried in the area.
Anna McFall
The nanny of Fred and Rena West’s children, McFall was believed to have been murdered in 1967.
She was pregnant when she died, with West believed to have been the father. Her body was found in June 1994 in a shallow grave.
Fred West denied murdering McFall but he is said to have confided to a visitor after his arrest that he stabbed her following an argument.
This happened before Rose West met him.
Charmaine West
With Fred in prison for the theft of car tyres and a vehicle tax disc, Rose was left to look after Charmaine and Anne Marie.
The former just eight-years-old, was Fred West’s stepdaughter from his previous marriage.
A neighbour Tracey is said to have found Charmaine tied to a wooden chair with her hands behind her back with Rose standing with a large wooden spoon.
Rose claimed she’d been taken by her mother, but her skeleton was found at the Midland Road property, hidden and missing bones.
Rena West
Fred's first wife Rena is believed to have been murdered by strangulation.
Rose was not charged for this murder.
Lynda Gough
Lynda Gough was the first sexually motivated killing conducted by the Wests.
She moved into Cromwell Street in April 1973, having had affairs with several lodgers. The Wests later claimed she’d been asked to leave after hitting one of their children.
Strangulation and suffocation were the likely causes of death.
Carol Ann Cooper
Cooper was murdered in November 1973, aged just 15.
On the night of November 9, she was allowed to spend the night at her grandmother’s house before a doctor’s appointment the next morning.
She attended the appointment and then met her boyfriend, before somehow ending up on Cromwell Street.
Her body was found more than twenty years later.
Lucy Partington
A 21-year-old medieval English student at Exeter University, Lucy returned home for Christmas in December 1973.
She left a friend’s house in a rush to get the last bus from Cheltenham to Gretton on 27 December, with it believed she was abducted from this bus stop.
She was found more twenty years later, her dismembered body in the cellar of Cromwell Street.
Therese Siegenthaler
A 21-year-old Swiss sociology student at Woolwich Polytechnic.
She had planned to hitch-hike to Ireland in Easter 1974. Her family reported her missing having not heard from her for some time.
Prosecution believe she was abducted before being killed, with Fred West later building a fake chimney over her grave.
Shirley Hubbard
Just 15 at the time of her death, Hubbard is believed to have been abducted by the Wests.
Her body was found following an excavation in the concrete and plastic membrane of the cellar floor.
Juanita Mott
In the summer of 1974, Mott moved into 25 Cromwell Street but later went missing when she was living in Newent.
Her body was found in March 1994, 19 years later, with West having concreted over the floor of the cellar.
Shirley Robinson
The first victim buried outside the house, Robinson had an affair with Fred West, and by autumn 1977, she was pregnant with his child.
It was initially claimed she had moved to Scotland but her body was later found.
When questioned, Rose West, herself pregnant with her daughter Tara at the time of the murder, claimed she did not remember her, which was described as “ludicrous” by the prosecution.
Alison Chambers
The last murder with a sexual motive established. She disappeared just before her 17th birthday, having been seen at 25 Cromwell Street throughout the summer.
Her body was buried underneath the patio.
Heather West
The first child born to Fred and Rose West, there is no evidence she was aware of the killings.
Sexually abused by her parents and having told friends, she suddenly went missing in 1987, with her mum claiming she had gone to Wales to be with a lesbian partner.
The couple would joke to their other children that they would “end up under the patio like Heather” if they misbehaved. This, and their changing stories, led to the search warrants for the property, and subsequently to their arrests.
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.
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