Myra Hindley and Ian Brady pose for a picture on the moor where they buried their child victims Moors Murderers
© RexMyra Hindley and Ian Brady pose for a picture on the moor where they buried their child victims
Myra Hindley and Ian Brady, both now dead, lured at least five children away to their deaths and buried them on Saddleworth Moor above Manchester in the 1960s.

One of the children they targeted, 'latchkey kid' Tommy Rhattigan, was seven when he was approached by a woman with a blond beehive - who he now knows was Hindley - while on playground swings in the dark.

'There was this coyness about her,' he said. 'She asked why was I here on my own, was I afraid of the dark. I can still smell the perfume and hairspray and her eyes, these blue eyes looked really kind.'


'She said you look hungry, do you want to come back for a jam butty?'

He followed her home, feeling that he could trust her and with no idea he was in serious danger.

But a man appeared, and the mood had changed - with the kindness he previously thought he saw nowhere to be seen.

'Her eyes had completely changed,' he said. 'The smile she showed before just wasn't there.'

He heard Brady snap something to her, and he suddenly realised he needed to get out - so leaped for the window.


'I was panicking so much that I felt physically sick,' he said.
Moors Murderers: Victims speak out in chilling documentary Ian Brady Myra Hindley
© Channel 5Tommy told how he followed Myra Hindley home
Moors Murderers: Victims speak out in chilling documentary Ian Brady Myra Hindley
© BrightSpark Films/Channel 5Terry West, Terry Kilbride, Tommy Rhattigan, David Gray, Bernard King spoke out in the programme
Hindley grabbed his foot as he scrambled out, but Tommy thankfully managed to escape.


'I can remember being tangled up in part of the net curtain,' he said. 'As I'm going I can hear a woman shout, "'The little shit is getting away!'"

'She caught my ankle but momentum kept me going. I was over that wall and I was gone.

'If I hadn't gone out that window, I wouldn't be talking to you now.'

Tommy told his story in a two-part documentary which started tonight on Channel 5. Victims described how they got away, while relatives of those who died talked about the horrific legacy.

Another victim, David Grey, who has never told his story before, was ten and buying sweets when a man drew up in a car outside.

Moors Murderers: Victims speak out in chilling documentary Ian Brady Myra Hindley
© GettySearchers probing the peat on Saddleworth Moor in 1965
Pretending to be a police officer, the man accused David of stealing and asked him to jump into the car.

Bernard King, who has also never before spoken on TV, was ten years old and at the funfair when he saw a couple approach his school friend Leslie Ann Downey. They struck up a conversation and they then led Leslie away.

Nine months later her remains were found buried on Saddleworth Moor.

Her older brother Terry West told the programme how he has never forgiven himself for not going with Leslie to the fair that day.

The film also includes Terry Kilbride, whose brother John was murdered by the couple, and former police officer Evan Hughes who was involved in the search for the missing children.

'The Moors Murderers Left Me For Dead' is on Channel 5.


Comment: You can watch the documentary trailer here.