Criminal records from 1770 go online

More than 2.5m British criminal records dating back to 1770 are being published online for the first time, including details of Victorian serial killers and habitual drunks banned from pubs.

Family history website findmypast.co.uk, in association with Britain’s national archives, is launching the records, offering people the chance to trace any villains in their family. The records, from 1770 to 1934, include mugshots, court documents, appeal letters, and prison ship registers.

Included in the collection is Victorian serial killer Amelia Dyer — who operated her own business minding illegitimate children for a fee — who is believed to have murdered 400 babies between 1880 and 1896 by strangling them and dumping their bodies in the River Thames.