The 12 victims of Fred and Rosemary West

Fred West has been described as the "epitome of evil", preying on vulnerable young girls and women in order to play out sexual fantasies over a period of 20 years.

Along with his wife, Rosemary, the couple raped, tortured and murdered an unknown number of people. When police were eventually led to the couple's "house of horror" at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester, they discovered the bodies of nine girls. Three further bodies were later found elsewhere.

Police have begun excavating a cafe in Gloucester looking for another suspected victim of Fred West, Mary Bastholm.

Who are the 12 confirmed victims?

In order of their disappearance, they are:

Born in Scotland, Ann McFall is believed to be Fred West's first victim.

After leaving school she worked in a knitwear factory in Glasgow and in 1966 moved with friends to the Gloucester area.

The 18-year-old was nanny to Fred West's children from his first marriage to Catherine Costello. Fred West's biographer Geoffrey Wansall said she "flirted restlessly with West, according to him".

Miss McFall, who was believed to be "naive", lived with West in his caravan, becoming his lover during one of the periods when his wife was away. He was also the father of her child and was pregnant when she disappeared in May 1967.

Her remains, and those of their unborn baby, were found in a field at Kempley, near Fred West's home village of Much Marcle, Herefordshire.

Catherine Costello was born in Scotland and was West's first wife - and his second victim.

She and West married at Ledbury in 1962, when she was pregnant with another man's child. She gave birth to Charmaine in 1963.

Understood to have had a "strong personality" Mr Wansall said Catherine Costello was "more than a match for Fred", and the couple went on to have another child, Anne Marie, a year later.

Described as a "tough and manipulative woman", she left West in 1969 amid reports of violence and sexual abuse, and friends and family lost contact with her in 1971.

The 26-year-old's remains were found at a field in Kempley, close to where Ann McFall was buried.

Charmaine was just eight when she disappeared in 1971.

It is understood she hated Rosemary West with a passion and had been a "rebellious little girl".

Rosemary murdered her stepdaughter while Fred was in prison for the theft of car tyres and a vehicle tax disc.

When he was released, he buried her body beneath the kitchen window at the couple's home in Midland Road, in Gloucester.

Lynda Gough lived in Gloucester with her family. She attended the local primary school and then enrolled in a private school in Midland Road.

She later worked as a seamstress and became friendly with lodgers at the West's home at 25 Cromwell Street. It is believed she had sex with some of them.

Mr Wansall said Lynda was "naive".

The 19-year-old vanished in April 1973 and her parents reported her missing.

Miss Gough's remains were found in a former car inspection pit in a garage that had been converted into a bathroom at 25 Cromwell Street.

Carole Ann Cooper, known as Caz, was born in Luton, Bedfordshire, and later lived in Worcester.

At the time of her disappearance in November 1973 she was staying at The Pine Children's Home.

She had been given permission to spend the weekend with her grandmother and disappeared after boarding a bus back to the home following a night out on 10 November.

Extensive enquiries were made by West Mercia officers but they were unable to track her down.

Her body was found buried in the cellar at 25 Cromwell Street. Detectives concluded the Wests had picked her up while she was hitch-hiking.

Lucy Partington was born in St Albans and moved to Bishop's Cleeve soon after.

The "clever and much-liked woman" went to Exeter University and on 20 December 1973, she returned home for Christmas.

The 21-year-old disappeared two days later after leaving a friend's house.

It is thought the Wests picked her up while she was waiting for a bus to her home in Gretton, near Winchcombe.

Her mother reported her missing to police, sparking a massive search.

Mr Wansall said her case was often seen as the "one that attracts the most anger".

Ms Partington was middle class and had recently converted to Catholicism.

Her remains were found beneath the floor of the cellar at 25 Cromwell Street.

Swiss-born Therese Siegenthaler, 21, was a student at a London college. She had left school at the age of 16, but continued her education; studying for a diploma in secretarial studies.

It is believed she came to England in the early 1970's to continue her studies.

At the weekend, she worked in a ballet shoe shop in the Swiss Centre in Leicester Square.

Mr Wansall described her as petite with blondish, mousey hair.

Miss Siegenthaler disappeared at Easter in 1974 having set out hitch-hiking to Ireland to visit a friend who was a priest.

She never reached her destination.

It is thought she was well used to hitch-hiking and had "boasted to friends that she could look after herself well," Mr Wansall said.

An investigation was carried out by the Metropolitan Police spanning a number of years but with no success.

Her remains too were found under the floor of the cellar at 25 Cromwell Street.

Shirley Hubbard, 15, was the youngest of the victims to be found at Cromwell Street. She was described by Fred West's biographer as "pretty, spirited and vulnerable".

She was born in Birmingham and was given the name Shirley Lloyd, though she was also known as Shirley Owen. Her parents separated when she was two-years-old and she was taken into care.

In 1972, she decided she wanted to be called Shirley Hubbard although her name was never officially changed.

She attended Droitwich High School and, at the time of her disappearance, was engaged in work experience at Debenhams in Worcester.

On 14 November 1974, she left work and was believed to have been travelling home, but disappeared.

She was reported missing to police, but no trace of her was found.

Her remains were eventually found under the floor of the cellar at Cromwell Street.

Juanita Mott was born in 1957 and went to school in Gloucester, leaving in 1972 to take up a number of short term jobs in the city.

According to Mr Wansall, she was rebellious, difficult and strong-willed, but attractive and outgoing.

In April 1975, when she was 18-years-old, she left her address in Newent, and was believed to be travelling to Gloucester.

But she vanished, the day before a friend's wedding.

Her disappearance was not reported to the police though her family did contact the Missing Persons Bureau and the media.

Her remains were also found in the cellar of 25 Cromwell Street.

Shirley Anne Robinson was born in Leicestershire and later lived in both Germany and the West Midlands.

She lodged with Fred and Rosemary West and became Fred West's lover.

Mr Wansall said she "saw herself as Rose's replacement" and that it had "been suggested that Rose told Fred Shirley had to go".

Ms Robinson, who was "outward looking and rather worldly", conceived a child with Fred West and was about eight months pregnant when she was last seen in May 1978.

Her body and her unborn child were found buried in the garden at the Wests' home.

Alison Chambers, known as Al or Ali, was born in Hanover, in West Germany, where her father was serving in the RAF. She later moved to Swansea.

Then, at the age of 16, and a "rebellious teenager", she went to live in a children's home in Gloucester. She was known to be a frequent visitor to 25 Cromwell Street.

Miss Chambers worked for a firm of solicitors under a Youth Training Scheme and friends said she "wanted constant attention".

She disappeared in August 1979 shortly before her 17th birthday and her disappearance was reported to the Missing Persons Bureau and initially to the police as an absconder from care.

Her remains were found in the garden at 25 Cromwell Street.

Heather West was the first child of Fred and Rosemary West, born in Gloucester on 17 October 1970. Her murder demonstrated the depths of evil the couple were prepared to plummet to.

She was 16 when she was murdered in 1987. She was the first victim whose body was found at 25 Cromwell Street and is believed to have been the last victim of the Wests' killing spree.

She had lived with her family in Midland Road until 1972, when they moved to Cromwell Street.

She was "rebellious, difficult, and refused to collaborate with her father's plans", Mr Wansall said.

She and her sister would try to protect each other from their father, and Mr Wansall said he believed she had threatened to go to the police about her father, which in his view is why she was killed.

She had just finished her GCSE examinations when she went missing. Her parents never reported her "disappearance", although they told various people they had.

In reality, Heather West had been murdered and was buried under the garden patio.

Follow BBC West on Facebook, external, Twitter, external and Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to: bristol@bbc.co.uk , external