Coroner gives cause of death of rapist The Fox

A corner's inquest has revealed the cause of the death of one of Sunderland's most notorious criminals and one of the country's most feared rapists - 'The Fox'.

- by Neil Fatkin

Malcolm Fairley with a blanket over his head when arrested in London in September 1984. Photo by Getty Images

(Getty Images)

Malcolm Fairley, who was born in Silksworth in 1952, went on to spark one of the biggest manhunts in British criminal history after committing 81 offences, including rapes, indecent assaults and burglaries.

He moved to the south of England in 1983 before going on to wage terror on rural communities the following year across Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire.

Masked and armed with a shotgun, he was given the name 'The Fox' as he would break into people's homes when they were out before a building den inside the property, where he would eat food from the fridge and watch TV before the occupants returned.

Fairley would then commit violent attacks, including rape and indecent assaults, and at the height of his reign of terror in the summer of 1984, there were three attacks in one week.