Levi Bellfield 'hated blonde women'

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Levi Bellfield is one of the most dangerous serial killers Britain has known.

He would have continued preying on young women walking alone if he had not been caught.

His arrest in November 2004 brought to an end years of bullying violence against females, alleged sexual assaults, and ultimately murders.

Burly Bellfield thought of himself as affable Lee - family man, businessman and all-round Jack the Lad.

But he got his kicks from stalking teenagers, spotting them on buses or near bus stops and leaving them dead or dying.

He was a man with a hatred of women - especially blondes.

The two years of escalated killing are thought to be only part of his sexual and violent offending against women.

Detectives believe he may have been responsible for around 20 attacks on women which were never solved.

These include the killing of Judith Gold who was hit over the head in Hampstead, north London, in 1990 and Bellfield's school friend Patsy Morris, 14, who was strangled on Hounslow Heath, west London, in 1980.

In addition to a number of unsolved attacks on people in west London, Bellfield is suspected of date-rape crimes involving young women who were plied with drugs and sexually abused.

Bellfield, who has a devil tattoo on his shoulder, was said to have an unhealthy interest in sex.

He had a series of lovers on the go, sometimes more than one was pregnant at the same time.

When he was violent towards a partner, she would seek comfort from one of the other women. They lived in the same area and knew each other.

One claimed Bellfield showed an unhealthy interest in one of her 13-year-old relatives.

Bellfield, who was from a gypsy background, was said to have at least 11 children from five women.

Over the years, he had many girlfriends in addition to his "wives" but still sought younger and younger girls to impress.

He flashed his cash and was once seen doing a "loadsamoney" impersonation with a handful of notes.

He trawled the darkened streets for young runaways from care homes getting off the last bus with nowhere to go.

Tempting them with drink and drugs, they soon found themselves in the back of a succession of old cars and vans, which were often adapted with darkened windows and carpets.

If he picked the wrong woman and was turned down, he exploded with violence, parking his vehicle and going after them with a hammer or baseball bat.

A former partner said she found a magazine with the faces of blonde models slashed out.

Bellfield also told her he would go to alleyways and wait and watch blondes passing, claiming that he wanted to "hurt them, stab them, rape them".

"He hated women. He hated blonde women," said prosecutor Brian Altman.

Former friend Ricky Brouillard said Bellfield had sex in front of him with a teenager.

He said: "I would describe him as an animal. She was a naive little girl. He didn't treat her with respect."

Mr Brouillard said Bellfield admitted he had sex with the teenager's younger cousin, who was 14 or 15.

"She had long blonde hair and a ponytail. He said he had sex with her and I was disgusted."

The 6ft 1in tall, 20-stone killer was brought up in west London by his now elderly and ailing mother.

He began chatting up girls and had ready access to drugs when he worked as a bouncer in pubs and clubs in the Twickenham area.

Then he hit gold with the demand for wheel clamping services for businesses with land which could be used for car parks.

With a bunch of friends, he set out to trap motorists. If they refused to pay, some would have their feet "accidentally" run over.

A doctor complained after this happened to him, unaware that the company he was writing to consisted only of Bellfield.

Gillian Mills was shocked when her 17-year-old daughter started a relationship with him when he was working as a club bouncer.

"I didn't like the look of him," she said. "I would describe Levi as a big, fat lump with a high voice."