A DRACULA scholar from Latchford has claimed to have uncovered evidence that the character’s creator knew the identity of the notorious Jack the Ripper and was involved in a plot to cover up his crimes.

Andy Struthers claims in a new book that Dracula author Bram Stoker knew the identity of the culprit of the gruesome Whitechapel murders of autumn 1888.

He also believes that Dracula was written as a direct response to Stoker being moved by Jack the Ripper’s killing, with his novel actually being a fact-based parable.

The 50-year-old said: “I can categorically state that the man who inspired this world famous vampire was not from Transylvania, but he has always been just as famous as the vampiric villain based on him – his name is Jack the Ripper.

“I would describe it as looking at an unlit Christmas tree – I found a switch and a thousand lights came on and now everything becomes startlingly clear.

“The ramifications of what I have discovered are truly earth-shattering – I believe that had the Whitechapel murders not taken place, Dracula would likely never have existed.”

Stoker began writing Dracula 16 months after the last Ripper murder, and Andy has pointed to the character’s arrival at Whitby and the first killing both taking place on August 7 plus his the vampire’s primary location of Whitechapel as evidence of the incredible claims.

His booked Dracula Incarnate: Unearthing the Definitive Dracula came as a result of many years of research and is intended as a follow up to 1972’s In Search of Dracula, which saw Andy first become fascinated with the character at the age of six.

He presented his findings at this year’s World Dracula Congress in Dublin.

Andy added: “In Search of Dracula became a worldwide best seller but the very latest research findings have proven this previous work to be outdated and fundamentally flawed.

“This book has been a work in progress for several years, though the research has taken a good deal longer – it is true to say that this volume is the result of a lifetime’s pondering.

“Within this new work I strive to put as many inaccuracies right as humanly possible.

“From the outset my intention was to find out where in hell did Dracula come from, as I considered that this had never been achieved – there were lots of ideas but nothing conclusive.”

Dracula Incarnate: Unearthing the Definitive Dracula is available on Amazon now.