AUTHOR Jonathan Oates’ newest title reveals fresh research and previously unpublished photographs of the infamous acid-bath murderer.

The latest in his best-selling studies of criminal history, John George Haigh, The Acid-Bath Murderer: A Portrait of a Serial Killer and His Victims was published to mark the 70th anniversary of Haigh's first murder.

One of London’s most notorious serial killers in the late 1940s, Haigh was known for dissolving his victim’s corpses in concentrated sulphuric acid.

Dr Oates, 45, of Iver, said: “There hasn’t been a book on Haigh for about 25 years.

“But, in the interim, a lot of archives were made available to the public in 1994 or thereabouts, and no one’s really used them.

“The more I read them, the more I found there was a lot of interesting stuff about Haigh’s victims, as well as the criminal himself, and there seemed to be a gap in the market.”

Dr Oates, who is also Ealing Borough Archivist and local history librarian, was granted access to New Scotland Yard’s archive, where he uncovered the never-before-seen photograph of a 32-year-old Haigh.

Dr Oates said Haigh was good-looking and charming and used this to lull victims into a false sense of security, befriending them before committing the gruesome murders.

He said: “He was incredibly arrogant, selfish, vain, had a massive ego and was very, very self-confident. He also deserted his wife and baby daughter.

“On the other hand, of course, he appeared charming, well mannered, cultured, intelligent, good-looking, all of the surface attributes that made him a very plausible rogue.”

“I think one of the most shocking things perhaps was that Haigh claimed his motive was to drink blood - that he was a vampire - though he could have said that to try to appear insane and therefore avoid being executed!”

Dr Oates’ next project is a book on 20th century Ealing murderer Ronald John Chesney, which he expects to be ready for release in the next year or two.

John George Haigh, The Acid-Bath Murderer: A Portrait of a Serial Killer and His Victims is available now at bookshops and online retailers.