Fred West Serial Killer on Canvey 1966?

Fred West Serial Killer on Canvey 1966?

In the summer of 1966 I was 11 years old.

My dad often had visions, he was precognitive and one Sunday morning he warned me not to visit my friend Suzanne over at Winter Gardens but gave me no reason why.

We never had a phone back then, and there was no way to let Suzanne know I couldn’t go as planned to help her bath her dog, Mick. So I disobeyed my dad, snuck out on my bicycle and started cycling down the roads that were once located between the village in Long Road down to Winter Gardens.

It were all farmland back then and isolated and was a lovely sunny day.
I’d gone about halfway when a small grey car passed by slowly. It parked up just ahead of me. I believe it was a Morris Minor, it had dark red ribbed seats.

I faltered and stopped riding as some sixth sense made me cautious. Quickly I analysed the situation. If I ride by on the drivers side the driver could grab me, but if I went up the pavement onto the passenger side it would be safer. I did that but before I got to the passenger door, the driver stretched over and flung it open blocking my path. At the same time he grabbed the handlebars of my bike pulling it toward him so that I toppled that way. He grabbed at my arm yelling angrily “GET IN !”

“NO !” I yelled back and we struggled a moment. At one point my face was mere inches from his, and I’ve never forgotten it. He has dark curly hair, an ear ring in one ear, he wore a dark coloured kerchief around his neck and there was something odd about the gap between his two front teeth.

Thankfully, my bicycle prevented him from dragging me into the car and suddenly he pushed me away slammed shut the door and sped off as we both saw a car coming toward us on the opposite side of the road.

I doubled back cycling as fast as I could toward home, not going to Suzanne’s at all, and the next day at school told Suzanne all about it and from then on she and her sister Gail walked together to collect me to go back to their house, never were we alone on that road ever again.

I never told my parents not ever, but a week later my mum read the newspaper to my dad exclaiming “look, Steve two children a boy and a girl have gone missing up by the Point and police are asking for witnesses about a grey car seen nearby.” My dad’s face went ashen and he looked frightened.

Years later when David Essex came on the scene, his looks reminded me of that man. And many many years later I saw a photograph of him.

He was Fred West the serial killer from Wales whom along with his wife Rose torchered and murdered many young women. Was this the same man that grabbed me. I’m 90% sure it was.

I’ve written to various places telling of this experience but none have replied, so I am writing it here, because other people on Canvey at that time may have encountered this man.

Please let me know if you did.

Thank you.
Sincerely,
Wendy Veryard.