The True Crime Museum in Hastings, East Sussex, has a real criminal case on its hands after an intruder broke in and went on a three hour rampage, attacking cardboard cutouts of the Kray twins and inadvertently posing for his own mugshot.
The break-in, which began at around 1am on 9 April, saw the man climb over locked gates and enter the building, where he caused “significant damage”, before being filmed standing in front of the museum’s height‑chart exhibit as CCTV cameras captured the scene.
“He was in the premises for about three hours,” the museum’s assistant curator Laura Green told The Independent. “We don’t really know what he was doing. He was off camera for quite a lot of the time, but we did get him on CCTV.
“He completely trashed our front signage. He was picking up our A-boards and throwing them over the gate and into the road. All of that was smashed up and beyond repair.
“We’ve got cutouts of the Krays, and he was punching and kicking them. He obviously didn’t like the Krays very much.”
She added: “He was trying to kick our office door in. He didn’t manage to do that thank goodness.
“We think he was trying his luck to steal things, but because we have such tight security he wasn’t able to. So then he went on a rampage and started trashing the place.”
“Nothing was stolen, and he didn’t get into the main museum which is behind steel doors.”
Describing the pictures of the man as he stood in front of the height chart, she said: “He’s literally standing right in front of our police mugshot photo opportunity. It’s designed for people to stand and write their name and their crime and stand in front of it. It’s terribly ironic that he’s right in front of it. And we’re hoping he’ll be standing in front of a real one very very soon.”
She added: “It’s quite possible we’ll make an exhibit out of it. We already have a small exhibit in here about a previous break in from when we first opened. Perhaps it’s due a refresh.”
In a call for information about the suspect, the museum posted the CCTV images on Facebook, and said there had been a wave of break-ins recently.
“We know we’re not alone – several local businesses have suffered break-ins and burglaries in recent weeks. If you have any information, or if your business has been affected, please do get in touch,” they said.
Ms Green added: “It seems to be happening everywhere in Hastings at the moment. So many other local businesses have had this.
“We’ve got an open case with the police and they’re working on it.”
One Hastings resident told The Independent: “If I was him I’d give myself up just to set the record straight that I’m not 4 feet tall.”
Located along Hastings’ seafront, the True Crime Museum contains a hoard of macabre and darkly intriguing artefacts relating to some of the UK’s worst crimes.
These include the bath used by East London hitman John Childs to dismember his victims, nooses used to hang murderers, a “genuine lethal injection death bed”, an array of shanks used by prisoners and guns used in various crimes.
To mark the 10th anniversary of the museum’s opening last year, curator Joel Griggs purchased a pair of serial killer Rosemary West’s prison underwear, for £2,500.
The knickers were obtained by a former prison officer who worked at HMP Bronzefield – Europe’s largest female prison – where West was held for four years until 2008.
Sussex Police told The Independent: “On Thursday, 9 April, police received a report of an attempted burglary at a museum in Palace Court, White Rock, Hastings.
“It is believed that between 1.30am and 3.50am, a suspect caused damage to display equipment outside the museum and to the museum door, and also attempted to gain entry to the premises. Officers have reviewed local CCTV and carried out enquiries. The investigation remains ongoing.”
Anyone with information is asked to contact police online or by calling 101, quoting serial number 377 of 09/04.
