AN e-fit of Epping Forest's most notorious criminal - responsible for murder, robbery and horse theft - has been released by police.

Many pubs in Epping claim to have been the haunt of Dick Turpin, whose gang was responsible for a reign of terror in the area during the early eighteenth century which was only ended by his execution in 1739.

North Yorkshire police have worked with historians at York Castle Museum - where Turpin was eventually executed - to bring a true picture of the highwayman back to life.

They worked from several eyewitness accounts from the time, including one from 1735 which read: "Five ft 9 ins, of a brown complexion, very much marked with the smallpox, his cheek bones broad, his face slimmer towards the bottom, his visage short, pretty upright, and broad about the shoulders."

Dr Katherine Prior, researcher for the new gaol project at the York Castle Museum, said: “Richard Turpin is one of the most infamous highwaymen in the world, but interestingly very little information on what he actually looked like survives.

"There are no drawings or paintings of Turpin created during his life time. All we have to go on are the descriptions from newspapers which were issued to aid his capture.

“We have worked with North Yorkshire Police to create an e-fit of Mr Turpin, just like they would do from a description of a criminal today. The results are not pretty”

Not only is the e-fit ugly, but so is the truth about Turpin, whose transformation from a murderer, torturer and horse stealer to dashing heroic highwayman began, with the 1834 novel Rookwood by William Harrison Ainsworth.

The historically inaccurate story of Turpin riding the 200 miles from London to York on Black Bess in a day captured the public’s imagination and the legend was born.

• For more information on the exhibition visit www.yorkmuseumstrust.org.uk