Yorkshire Ripper’s ashes were scattered at beauty spot near Morecambe in ‘secret plan’, niece reveals

Peter Sutcliffe, who terrorised women in the 1970s and 1980s, was convicted of 13 murders before his death in 2020 aged 74 after contracting Covid-19.

Emily Sutcliffe said some of the Ripper's remains were scattered by the seaside in Arnside where he visited as a boy, staying at his uncle’s caravan.

Emily, 28, told the Mirror: "I was taken there once or twice when I was a child. It is lovely."

She continued: "That area means a lot to the whole family. We had family living in the area at the time and would visit them."

Speaking for the first time about her twisted uncle, the young mum said the killer had a dreadful impact on her life.

Emily added: "When he died it felt a bit like freedom, a relief. When I looked in the mirror I saw a monster because I was convinced I looked like him.

"When I was younger I was told I looked like my dad who has similar features to my uncle. It was so bad I wanted plastic surgery to change everything about my appearance. If I’d had the money I would have."

The Yorkshire Ripper’s ex-wife Sonia Sutcliffe was made his executor and it is thought the ashes were divided up and sent to family and friends.

It is believed the killer told relatives of his secret plan for his remains and a portion of them are thought to have been released at Arnside.

The killer’s grandfather Arthur was a regular visitor to Lancashire with a penchant for Morecambe’s ballrooms.

He kept a caravan across the bay at New Barns Farm, in Arnside, where he would entertain illicit affairs throughout his life.

He passed his love for the Lancashire coastline on to his son John who would take his own children on regular trips to the coast.

When John retired he moved to Arnside where he lived out his final years and his ashes were scattered there in 2004.

Sutcliffe’s sister Anne and grandmother Renee would also uproot from Bradford to settle in Morecambe.

With family in town the killer – a long distance lorry driver – would turn off the M6 at Lancaster a couple of times a month during the 1970s to call by.

He would take his nephews and nieces to the funfair and buy them toffee apples. On other occasions he would treat his wife Sonia and her Czechoslovakian family to short breaks in Morecambe.

It is believed the Ripper’s ashes could have been released on the adjacent beach to his father’s at White Creek.

Emily claims they were scattered out to sea.

The serial killer was allowed to visit Arnside in 2005, sparking outrage in the peaceful village.

He was driven to the bay under the supervision of Broadmoor Hospital staff to pay his respects to his dad.

The area’s then MP Tim Collins said: "It is despicable."

Lorry driver Sutcliffe, from Bingley, was jailed in 1981 for the murders and seven attempted murders.

He was given no chance of release.

Emily said she was eight when her dad Carl, the killer’s brother, told her about her notorious uncle.

She said: "I remember going into school and telling my friends because I thought my uncle was famous. I didn’t understand what he’d done then.

"Unfortunately it was the perfect age for bullying and it has scarred me."

She said a close friend at primary school told how her parents knew one of the victims.

Emily added: "I felt like saying ‘I’m sorry, but it wasn’t me’.”