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Police charge £75 to stay in Fred West's cell on Halloween: 'Glorifying criminals is the worst look'

A police force has been accused of "glorifying killers" for charging people £75 to spend Halloween in a cell used by serial killer Fred West.

West Midlands Police (WMP) are holding a ghost hunt at the Steelhouse Lane prison in Birmingham.

West was held in a cell there before being transferred to Winson Green prison in the city where he hanged himself in 1995.

In advertising material for the 31 October event, the force said it provided “a unique opportunity to spend an entire night on a ghost hunting mission in the Victorian lock-up in Birmingham city centre on Halloween”.

It added: “These cells were occupied by none other than the original Peaky Blinders, Fred West and many more. Be there if you dare!”

The night-long event will include ghost stories and tales about the cell’s most notorious criminals.

The lock-up at Steelhouse Lane Police Station, Birmingham, where the cells are located underground (SWNS)
The lock-up at Steelhouse Lane Police Station, Birmingham, where the cells are located underground (SWNS)

Attendees will be assigned rooms which can accommodate two people and measure 12ft by 12ft. They will be locked inside them until 7am the next day when they will be given breakfast.

The event also stipulates that “no alcohol or drugs are allowed in the cell block”.

West hung himself in Winson Green Prison on New Year's Day 1995 as he awaited trial for 12 murders.

His wife Rose is serving a full-life term in Low Newton Prison for her part in 10 of the murders, including that of her 16-year-old daughter, Heather.

Police uncovered a number of mutilated female bodies in the garden and cellar of West's former home in Gloucester.

The Halloween event has been criticised by local residents, who said it was “highly insensitive”.

Victoria Sanderson, 45, of Edgbaston, Birmingham, said: “It’s fine to hold a fun ghost hunting event but I think the police have gone too far promoting the fact that Fred West was once in their cells.

“How on earth will the families of those people he murdered feel about the fact that he is being celebrated in this way, and by the police? It’s very distasteful and highly insensitive to the victims and their families.”

Writing on Facebook, Greg Yates added: “Glorifying criminals is possibly the worst look for a police force to have.”

After receiving a number of enquiries about the wording of the promotional material, West Midland Police said West's name would be removed from future advertising.

A WMP spokesperson said: "The ghost hunting mission within the Victorian lock up in Birmingham city centre, run independently of West Midlands Police, is an event to raise money for modern-day slavery charity Hope for Justice.

"Steelhouse Lane is where Fred West was held in custody in the 1990s and his name was used alongside the Peaky Blinders to promote this worthy cause.

"On reflection the organiser of the event has agreed that using his name was insensitive and has therefore removed it from any advertising of this event."

SWNS