Who is Tommy Rhattigan, how did he escape Myra Hindley during the Moors murders and what has he said about the killers?

EVIL lovers Myra Hindley and Ian Brady killed five young people – and there were other kids who escaped their clutches.

Here’s the story of Tommy Rhattigan who met the Moors Murderers in a disturbing encounter in 1963.

What happened to Tommy Rhattigan?

Tommy Rhattigan was seven when Hindley lured him to her house with the promise of bread and jam after seeing him on the streets in Manchester on November 1963.

He had a difficult upbringing in an abusive home, with an alcoholic father and neglectful mother, and naturally jumped at the offer of free food.

He said: “I told her my name was Tommy and I was seven.

“She came closer to me and I can smell now the perfume – a very strong smell of perfume and hairspray.

“And her eyes, she had blue eyes, kind eyes, so I felt comfortable with her.

“The man was hanging around looking from side to side and waiting.

“Then he said ‘hurry up’. She said to me ‘are you hungry? you look hungry.’

“I said, ‘yeah’ and she said, ‘Come on then. D’you want to come back for a jam butty?’”

At the house, the mood changed and Tommy was scared.

He said:“They went into the kitchen and I could hear muffled talking. Then she came out and put the slice of bread and jam down and it banged onto the table – and she’s completely changed.

“Her eyes had completely changed and the smile wasn’t there.”

In an interview with , Tommy recalled how the sudden mood change gave him an “overwhelming sense of panic” and “urge to leave”.

He continued: “She brought me a glass of water and went back into the kitchen and that’s when I heard her say something to him and he snapped at her, ‘f***ing wait’.

“It was really quite angry. It was at the stage I just really wanted to go. The nearest point for me to escape was the window.

“I remember lifting the latch and pushing it up and it came up four inches and no more. I was panicking so much I felt physically sick.

“I can remember jumping out of the window and getting entangled in the net curtain. I could hear the woman shouting ‘the little sh**’s getting away.’

“She grabbed for my foot but caught the ankle and my momentum has kept me going.

“As I went I heard the man shout ‘the b******’ but I was over that wall and I was gone.

“If I hadn’t jumped out of the window I wouldn’t be sitting here today.”

What happened next to Terry?

A new documentary Left For Dead: The Moors Murderers will feature people affected by the tragedy including Tommy.

Myra Hindley died in 2002 and Ian Brady in May this year.

Between 1963 and 1965, they murdered five children – Pauline Reade, 16, John Kilbride, 12, Keith Bennett, 12, Lesley and 17-year-old Edward Evans.

They never revealed the whereabouts of victim Keith.

Tommy has since written a book about his near-escape, A Slice of Butter and Jam.

He wrote to Brady’s family appealing for him to reveal where Keith’s body was hidden, but the killer wrote back saying he “quite ordinary and not dripping with blood”.

Tommy told the MEN: “I was a teenager before I could truly comprehend the evil inflicted by Brady and Hindley. It was a lucky escape that has haunted me all my life.

“I truly believe there were other victims.”