THE NORTH RIDING PROJECT

Barry Prudom, the killer, was a psychopath. He hated the police. It was said that he planned to wipe out the Yorkshire police force. He had been a commando. He knew how to live off the land. “Do not approach strangers,” the police said in public warnings. They published Prudom’s picture – he was unshaven, jug-eared, rather wolf-like and dark. Have You Seen This Man? the posters said. Four hundred people reported that they had. Every day there were fresh sightings. No-one said his name. They said, “Haven’t they caught that bloke yet?” People were giddy and talkative, excited by the danger. It was a classic example of the mad killer on the loose – a form of public theatre.

(Theroux/Kingdom)