Who is behind Yorkshire's poison pen letters?

A quaint little village in East Yorkshire has been left shaken following a string of "vulgar" poison pen letters sent to locals.

The village of Shiptonthorpe has been targeted by random letters for the last two years, with residents continually reporting them to local authorities.

Humberside Police have now urged people to get in contact with any information about the letters which have been described by a local as "personal, obscene and targeted".

One resident under the pseudonym Sophie recalled receiving the "astonishing" letter in December 2022.

"It was accusing me of what you could call being a loose woman," she told the BBC. "It said the only way I would ever get anywhere within politics would be if I was to perform unspeakable things to men."

Sophie, who was working towards becoming a ward councillor, also said the letter stated she should be "turned out on the Beverley Westwood pasture with the rest of the cows".

Sophie reported the letter to the police. According to Mail Online, over 25 letters have been sent to at least 10 people.

Another letter addressed to a local horticultural consultant read, "I hope cancer finds you" and wished for him to get "run over by a bus on the A1079."

"'I have gone to police three times and they have copies of all the letters," he said. "I don't know who sent them, although I have my own personal suspicions. I don't have any evidence and the police have said there is very little they can do."

As it stands, no one has yet been identified.

In a statement to Indy100, Humberside Police said they received reports of alleged letters "containing offensive language causing upset and distress between 2022 and 2024."

In January 2023, police received a report from a woman who said she had received a typed letter that caused her distress, but there were "no viable lines of enquiry to identify a suspect and the case was closed".

The following day, they received a separate call from another woman who said she had received a letter containing offensive language.

Enquiries were carried out at the time, "including reviewing CCTV, however the content of the alleged letter was unavailable, and subsequently no further investigative opportunities were able to be obtained."

Officers spoke with the woman regarding safety advice and encouraged her to keep a record and contact the police should any further incidents occur.

On 3 August 2024, police received a report about another anonymous letter sent to a man's home address. Officers reviewed the letter, however, "the content was not found to contain any aggressive language and it was established that no criminal offences had been committed."

"We always encourage anyone with any information or concerns to contact us so that we can carry out any necessary enquiries and offer support and advice," they said. "We value all information we receive as it helps us to build a bigger picture of what is going on in our communities, enabling us to take appropriate action and act accordingly."

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