The serial killer behind the murder of prostitutes will be an organised and competent murderer who could feel it is his mission to rid the world of street walkers, a West Midlands expert said today.

He could also see himself as a visionary who hears voices from God or the Devil telling him to behave in this way and will know the area well, said David Wilson, a professor of criminology at the University of Central England in Birmingham.

He said that prostitutes were vulnerable to attack by serial killers because of the very nature of their work on the streets.

They go into cars with people they have never met before who control where they are going, he pointed out.

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The serial killer behind the murder of prostitutes will be an organised and competent murderer who could feel it is his mission to rid the world of street walkers, a West Midlands expert said today.

He could also see himself as a visionary who hears voices from God or the Devil telling him to behave in this way and will know the area well, said David Wilson, a professor of criminology at the University of Central England in Birmingham.

He said that prostitutes were vulnerable to attack by serial killers because of the very nature of their work on the streets.

They go into cars with people they have never met before who control where they are going, he pointed out.

He said: “A serial killer, to achieve his purpose, has to gain access to the people he is going to attack. Prostitutes fit that access issue. They are vulnerable women who get into cars with men they have never met before. The man controls the environment of the car, and controls the place that he takes the prostitute to – that makes them vulnerable,” he explained.

The attackers can be “mission” serial killers, who appoint themselves to rid the world of certain groups, which could include prostitutes, but might also be people of a different race or sexual orientation.

Professor Wilson said: “Or they can be ‘visionary’ serial killers – someone who hears voices from God or the Devil telling him prostitutes are unclean and he should eliminate them. Classically Peter Sutcliffe, who is now in a secure hospital, claimed he heard voices telling him to behave in this way,” he went on to say.

Professor Wilson also pointed out that there was a series of unsolved murders of prostitutes in East Anglia.

“We need to remember that Ipswich and Norwich have a history of unsolved murders of prostitutes going back to the early 1990s.

“I do not believe that a person suddenly emerges as a triple killer in a short space of time. The other thing to say is that the killer has been very organised and competent. He clearly knows the road systems very well.

“I’ve visited the sites where two of the bodies were found, and I would not have been able to find my way around those roads. This person knows the area well.”

Jacqui Cheer, assistant chief constable of Suffolk, yesterday warned women to stay away from Ipswich’s red light district as fears rose that a serial killer was targeting prostitutes. Detectives warned two prostitutes had been murdered, another found dead and two were missing.

“My message to you is simple – stay off the streets,” she said in a press conference.

“If you are out alone at night, you are putting yourself in danger,” she added.

Detective Chief Superintendent Stewart Gull, who is heading the inquiry, said that more than 100 officers were involved in probably the biggest murder investigation seen in Suffolk. He added that police officers might be looking for a serial killer.