Kray paintings sell for £16,500

Eight paintings by the late gangland killer Ronnie Kray, dating back to the early 1970s, have sold for almost £16,500 at auction.

The pictures, in oil on card and signed R. Kray, were painted when he was at Parkhurst Prison on the Isle of Wight.

Ronnie and his twin brother Reggie ran a notorious gang in London's East End called The Firm during the 1950s and 1960s. They were both jailed in 1969.

The paintings were sold at Mander Auctioneers in Suffolk, for £16,450.

All but one of the paintings came to light recently after being found in the attic of a house in Suffolk.

Suffolk connections

The Kray twins were jailed for life for murder in 1969.

Ronnie Kray, who died in 1995 aged 61, took up painting while in prison and often painted the same scene.

It is thought that both brothers used their art work to barter with in prison.

On the reverse of each picture are Ronnie's details and prison number along with the exact month and year they were painted and the official prison stamp.

The Krays had connections in Sudbury, Suffolk, and owned property in Bildeston, which may have been the inspiration for the cottage in some of the works, the auctioneers said.

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