Inside mystery of poison pen letters tearing village apart in echo of Colman film and clues to who could be behind them --[Reported by Umva mag]

IT has all the hallmarks of a village mystery drama – furtive gossip, malicious whispers, poison pen letters and the arrival of local bobbies. Sleepy Shiptonthorpe in East Yorkshire, home to 500 people, is at the centre of a plot to rival that of movie Wicked Little Letters. NB PRESS LTDLocals in Shiptonthorpe, East Yorkshire, are being sent vile letters filled with sick messages[/caption] NB PRESS LTDResidents have been hit with notes including lines such as ‘I hope cancer finds you’[/caption] NB PRESS LTDMalicious letters are dropping on doormats of parish councillors, volunteers and, it is believed, even a cancer victim[/caption] parisatag.comThe vile letters are like the ones sent in 2023 comedy drama starring Olivia Colman, Wicked Little Letters[/caption] Just like the 2023 comedy drama starring Olivia Colman, locals are being sent vile letters filled with sick messages. Residents have been hit with notes including lines such as “I hope cancer finds you”, “Throw yourself under a bus” “We don’t want you in our village” and “Isn’t time you came out of the closet?”. One woman was told she was so ugly she scared children, while a Christmas card sent to another home was simply filled with the word c**t. All the letters are written in varying fonts — but none have any full stops. Parish council chairman Victor Lambert, 72, told The Sun: “One read, ‘I hope you get cancer’ and the other suggested I throw myself under a bus on the nearby A1079.” Conservative ward councillor Leo Hammond, who sits on East Riding of Yorkshire Council, had a letter which was “obsessed with his sexuality”. One resident told The Sun: “It’s utterly hurtful but also childish and infantile.” The pretty village sits on the edge of the Yorkshire Wolds, a stone’s throw from the home of Tory grandee David Davis, and looks like the last place to be engulfed by scandal. There is barely a soul around when we visit the area, where chocolate-box cottages sit alongside huge gated homes that sell for more than £1million. But behind closed doors, malicious letters are dropping on doormats of parish councillors, volunteers and, it is believed, even a cancer victim. Councillor Hammond has also fallen victim to the unknown villain with deeply personal letters about his sexuality, while one woman was accused of trading sexual favours. Invisible ink Some believe the notes, which are a mixture of handwritten and typed, are part of a personal vendetta. But most believe a bitter parish council row lies at the heart of the mystery. But it is not the first time Shiptonthorpe has been hit by the twisted writer, we can reveal. One local told us: “It started around 20 years ago with the odd letter, but it’s never been this intense or nasty before.” It all mirrors Wicked Little Letters, which itself was based on the true story of a series of lewd letters that rocked the seaside town of Littlehampton, Sussex, between 1918 and 1923. In a tale that gripped the nation, Irish migrant Rose Gooding was jailed for sending swear-filled notes to her neighbour, the deeply conservative Edith Swan. Some of the letters are typed in different fonts and all written without full stopsNB PRESS LTD NB PRESS LTDThis has led to speculation about whether there are two authors[/caption] It was eventually discovered that Edith was sending the messages to herself after police convinced the Post Office to sell her stamps covered in invisible ink. Modern-day police might have the advantage of CCTV but so far have been unable to nail the cowardly culprit dubbed the “Shiptonthorpe chicken” on social media. Locals are furious their normally harmonious hamlet has become a “laughing stock”. One said: “I’ve grown up here and never seen the likes. They are turning the place into a joke.” Angela Black, 76, said: “I’ve lived here since 1999 and everyone has been wonderful and kind since the day I moved in. It’s such a friendly, caring place. “It’s been said whoever is sending these letters needs help. But I worked for years as a ward sister and have some experience in psychiatry and, whoever is behind this, is just plain bad.” Intriguingly, many of the letters delivered by Royal Mail carry postmarks from North and West Yorkshire, while those posted locally usually go through the York sorting office. Of the 25-plus notes sent so far, some are typed in different fonts and all written without full stops, leading to speculation about whether there are two authors. NB PRESS LTDAngela Black says whoever is behind the letters is just ‘plain bad’[/caption] NB PRESS LTDParish council chairman Victor Lambert said one letter suggested he throw himself under a bus[/caption] NB PRESS LTDCouncillor Leo Hammond has also fallen victim to the unknown villain with deeply personal

Oct 7, 2024 - 20:05

Inside mystery of poison pen letters tearing village apart in echo of Colman film and clues to who could be behind them --[Reported by Umva mag]

IT has all the hallmarks of a village mystery drama – furtive gossip, malicious whispers, poison pen letters and the arrival of local bobbies.

Sleepy Shiptonthorpe in East Yorkshire, home to 500 people, is at the centre of a plot to rival that of movie Wicked Little Letters.

a white van is driving down a street with a bench in the foreground

Locals in Shiptonthorpe, East Yorkshire, are being sent vile letters filled with sick messages[/caption]

Residents have been hit with notes including lines such as ‘I hope cancer finds you’[/caption]

a red mailbox sits in front of a give way sign

Malicious letters are dropping on doormats of parish councillors, volunteers and, it is believed, even a cancer victim[/caption]

two women standing next to each other in front of a sign that says ' a ' on it

The vile letters are like the ones sent in 2023 comedy drama starring Olivia Colman, Wicked Little Letters[/caption]

Just like the 2023 comedy drama starring Olivia Colman, locals are being sent vile letters filled with sick messages.

Residents have been hit with notes including lines such as “I hope cancer finds you”, “Throw yourself under a bus” “We don’t want you in our village” and “Isn’t time you came out of the closet?”.

One woman was told she was so ugly she scared children, while a Christmas card sent to another home was simply filled with the word c**t.

All the letters are written in varying fonts — but none have any full stops.

Parish council chairman Victor Lambert, 72, told The Sun: “One read, ‘I hope you get cancer’ and the other suggested I throw myself under a bus on the nearby A1079.”

Conservative ward councillor Leo Hammond, who sits on East Riding of Yorkshire Council, had a letter which was “obsessed with his sexuality”.

One resident told The Sun: “It’s utterly hurtful but also childish and infantile.”

The pretty village sits on the edge of the Yorkshire Wolds, a stone’s throw from the home of Tory grandee David Davis, and looks like the last place to be engulfed by scandal.

There is barely a soul around when we visit the area, where chocolate-box cottages sit alongside huge gated homes that sell for more than £1million.

But behind closed doors, malicious letters are dropping on doormats of parish councillors, volunteers and, it is believed, even a cancer victim.

Councillor Hammond has also fallen victim to the unknown villain with deeply personal letters about his sexuality, while one woman was accused of trading sexual favours.

Invisible ink

Some believe the notes, which are a mixture of handwritten and typed, are part of a personal vendetta.

But most believe a bitter parish council row lies at the heart of the mystery.

But it is not the first time Shiptonthorpe has been hit by the twisted writer, we can reveal.

One local told us: “It started around 20 years ago with the odd letter, but it’s never been this intense or nasty before.”

It all mirrors Wicked Little Letters, which itself was based on the true story of a series of lewd letters that rocked the seaside town of Littlehampton, Sussex, between 1918 and 1923.

In a tale that gripped the nation, Irish migrant Rose Gooding was jailed for sending swear-filled notes to her neighbour, the deeply conservative Edith Swan.

a handwritten letter is dated september 29th 2022 — Some of the letters are typed in different fonts and all written without full stops

a handwritten letter is addressed to dear councillor hammond

This has led to speculation about whether there are two authors[/caption]

It was eventually discovered that Edith was sending the messages to herself after police convinced the Post Office to sell her stamps covered in invisible ink.

Modern-day police might have the advantage of CCTV but so far have been unable to nail the cowardly culprit dubbed the “Shiptonthorpe chicken” on social media.

Locals are furious their normally harmonious hamlet has become a “laughing stock”.

One said: “I’ve grown up here and never seen the likes. They are turning the place into a joke.”

Angela Black, 76, said: “I’ve lived here since 1999 and everyone has been wonderful and kind since the day I moved in. It’s such a friendly, caring place.

“It’s been said whoever is sending these letters needs help. But I worked for years as a ward sister and have some experience in psychiatry and, whoever is behind this, is just plain bad.”

Intriguingly, many of the letters delivered by Royal Mail carry postmarks from North and West Yorkshire, while those posted locally usually go through the York sorting office.

Of the 25-plus notes sent so far, some are typed in different fonts and all written without full stops, leading to speculation about whether there are two authors.

an elderly woman leans on a white fence in front of a white house

Angela Black says whoever is behind the letters is just ‘plain bad’[/caption]

a man with glasses and a mustache stands with his arms crossed

Parish council chairman Victor Lambert said one letter suggested he throw himself under a bus[/caption]

a man with a ring on his finger leans against a fence

Councillor Leo Hammond has also fallen victim to the unknown villain with deeply personal letters about his sexuality[/caption]

a man leans against a brick wall with a sign that says ivy house

Jeweller Peter Moulton says the situation in the village is ‘surreal’[/caption]

The mystery began in November 2022 when a resident in a neighbouring village, with links to Shiptonthorpe, got a letter accusing her of being a “loose woman”.

The victim, who was standing as a ward councillor at the time, told the BBC: “It was vile.

“I ripped it up. I couldn’t understand where it had come from or why I’d received it.

“It was accusing me of what you would call being a loose woman. It said the only way I would ever get anywhere in politics would be if I was to perform unspeakable things to men.”

Her partner also got a note warning him to stop his girlfriend from “roaming”.

Six months later, a villager got a vicious message that read: “You are an ugly, fat cow. Kids are frightened when they see you.”

The same woman was sent another note last autumn after her home was flooded.

I think these letters are being sent by two individuals Victor Lambert

She had just returned when it was posted and read: “Most people in Shiptonthorpe are wanting rain and floods so you are washed away, never to be seen again.”

By that time, local councillors had also started getting repulsive notes amid tensions over last year’s village election.

The old parish council was replaced, almost in its entirety, by new members in May last year when an unprecedented 55 per cent of the hamlet turned out to vote. Locals say the changeover has caused “bad feeling” in the area.

Hostilities reached fever pitch in July last year when police had to get involved

A man was given a reprimand for a minor spat during a parish council meeting after pushing past a councillor.

Chairman Mr Lambert, who has had eight letters: said: “They started after we were democratically elected. I think, like the national picture, the village was ready for a change.

“Our main activities are to make sure verges are done, trees are cut, dogs don’t make a mess, etc.

“But we’ve also come with a new approach to stage more events in the village hall.

“We ran a great D-Day event and raised about £2,000 for soldiers’ charities and we’ve got a Christmas day coming up for the children.

‘Intense and nasty’

It’s illogical that anyone would object to this sort of thing but I’ve had letters demanding I resign.”

Councillor Hammond, who is also deputy crime commissioner for the area, said: “This is highly unusual for Shiptonthorpe. It’s a very close-knit, very social community.

“I think these letters are being sent by two individuals. Mine have been a mix of handwritten and typed out letters – on different machines – on varying paper sizes, and different fonts.

“Some are signed by people who don’t exist, while others are anonymous.

“The focus of most of mine are around what I would describe as ‘small P’ politics, saying, ‘We don’t want you in our village’, that sort of thing.

“Others have a weird fixation with my sexuality which seems strange that someone sees that as an insult in the 21st century.

Residents tell me that this has happened on the odd occasion over the last 20 years but this is quite a campaign that has lasted for a lot longer and is more intense and nasty than ever.”

An ex-parish council insider told us: “I’m certain there are two writers across the political divide.

“We will probably be all very surprised when we find out who is behind it.”

The notes have been mentioned in a few community newsletters but it’s all very mysterious Peter Moulton

Humberside Police says it had reports from three people, including two women, complaining they had received letters between December 2022 and August this year.

The force said that in the first case, there were “no viable lines of inquiry to identify a suspect”.

In the second, CCTV was reviewed but there were “no further investigative opportunities”.

Police were contacted in August by a man who received an anonymous letter, but the content was not considered criminal.

Meanwhile, most people are just trying to get on with daily life, with many shocked the blink-and-you’ll-miss it village has been in the news.

Jeweller Peter Moulton, 59, said: “The notes have been mentioned in a few community newsletters but it’s all very mysterious.

“I was watching the news the other night which talked about what was going on with Hezbollah and Israel, then featured President Zelensky of Ukraine and then the Shiptonthorpe letters. It is all a bit surreal really.”

Another resident said: “It’s hardly the crime of century.

“But, just like the woman in Wicked Little Letters, I’m sure they will get their comeuppance when the time comes.”

Look at the clues

JUST who is the “Shiptonthorpe chicken”? Below, we put together some of the evidence . . .

Letters are usually marked with a York postcode. Many of the notes have stamps from other locations across Yorkshire. Could it be the author is travelling far and wide to post them, or works elsewhere?

The notes have mostly been sent to the homes of local councillors. Does someone have a grudge over issues such as dog poop or tree cutting?

Letters started in earnest following local elections last year. Could the writer hate Labour and be taking it out on local politicians?

Some letters are handwritten, while others are typed in different fonts on what looks like different machines. Could there be two people at work?

Shiptonthorpe is staging more local events. Is the poison pen writer simply a killjoy?

The following news has been carefully analyzed, curated, and compiled by Umva Mag from a diverse range of people, sources, and reputable platforms. Our editorial team strives to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the information we provide. By combining insights from multiple perspectives, we aim to offer a well-rounded and comprehensive understanding of the events and stories that shape our world. Umva Mag values transparency, accountability, and journalistic integrity, ensuring that each piece of content is delivered with the utmost professionalism.