Councillor may know who wrote poison pen letters

Chairman Victor Lambert says he is among the recipients of the letters

A parish council chairman believes he may know who is behind poison pen letters that have blighted his village.

Correspondence, some of which has been seen by the BBC, was described by recipients as “personal, obscene and targeted”.

Victor Lambert, of Shiptonthorpe Parish Council, said he had “suspicions based upon a feeling” about who may be responsible.

The BBC understands up to 15 people in and around Shiptonthorpe, in East Yorkshire, have received letters.

Lambert said he started to receive letters after a parish council election in May 2023

Humberside Police said it had made inquiries into some of the letters. No arrests have been made.

Lambert said the letters he received could be described as "a little mischievous”.

“But I shrugged my shoulders,” he added.

Lambert said when he was elected in May 2023 some people "maybe were not happy" about the result.

“It was an open and fair election," he said.

Following the election, Lambert said more letters arrived.

"They became more vile, even to the point of wishing harm to me," he said.

"I still, to a certain extent, shrugged them off; it's just my nature, just get on with it."

However, Lambert said one letter stood out because it contained a "direct threat".

He said he had only shown that letter to the police.

“I’ve not had any more direct threats, I’ve had nonsense ones,” Lambert said.

In total, he said he had received eight letters.

Lambert said a “dark cloud" had been cast on the village, created not by the writer but by “social media” reactions to the letters.

'Detectives'

Lambert said he had his suspicions about who was responsible but added: “We all sort of think of ourselves as detectives in our own right. We’re not. I could be completely wrong. That’s why it’s impossible for me to accuse anyone.”

Humberside Police said it was unable to confirm if it had received a complaint from Lambert.

The saga is reminiscent of scandalous letters that blighted Littlehampton, a small seaside town in Sussex, in the spring of 1920 - which sparked a House of Commons debate and period comedy drama Wicked Little Letters, starring Olivia Colman.

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