Footage released of Gloucester cafe basement linked to possible Fred West victim
A photo of the cellar has also been shared
Last updated 20th May 2021
Footage of a basement, where it is thought another victim of serial killer Fred West could be buried, has been released by Gloucestershire Police.
It was filmed in the Clean Plate Cafe by ITV on Wednesday (19th May) before excavation work began.
The police have also released the photo above.
Officers first attended the scene on Friday 7 May after an ITV crew filming for a documentary found evidence suggesting a body could be buried in the property.
The location has long been linked to Mary Bastholm who used to work there and disappeared in 1968 at the age of 15.
She has never been found but it has long been suspected she could be a victim of now deceased serial killer Fred West.
He is known to have carried out renovation works on the cellar in his work as a builder and was also a frequent customer at the cafe, when it was known as the Pop-in cafe.
Until now the cellar has never been formally searched by the police but they were called to the scene when the ITV crew found what appeared to be blue material buried in one area.
Mary was wearing a blue coat when she went missing.
The footage now released, which has no sound, shows areas of the basement floor marked with chalk ready for excavation.
Forensic archaeologists and anthropologists have now begun peeling off layers of concrete in the floor.
It's expected to last around two weeks however could be longer depending on any difficulties forensic teams encounter.
The TV crew identified six areas of interest after they surveyed the area with GPS mapping equipment, cadaver dogs and endoscope cameras.
In a previous statement released by Gloucestershire Police Detective Chief Inspector John Turner said: "With the expertise of forensic archaeologists and anthropologists, they'll be taking off layer by layer in the areas of interest identified.
"They will meticulously sift through items to see if there's any significance of them.
"Over the past few days we've brought in structural engineers to make sure it's safe for us to do some work and we've had to risk assess some asbestos which has been found in some of the tiles".
Along with his wife Rose West, Fred tourtured, raped and murdered an unknown number of women over a 20-year period between at least 1967 and 1987.
There are 12 known victims to date with Fred and Rose jointly charged with 10 and Fred a further two.
Fred went on to kill himself in jail before facing trial, while Rose remains in prison having been convicted for her involvement in 10 murders.
Mary Bastholm's family are being updated by the police and are said to be supportive of the activity taking place.