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Ever wondered what it's like to be incarcerated with some of Britain's most notorious criminals? Few can comprehend the chilling experience of sharing a prison wing with ruthless

child murderers. However, one woman who knows this all too well is Linda Calvey, also known as the Black Widow. The East End gangster, now 76, made her name as a bank robber but ended up in

jail for shooting her lover Ronnie Cook. Her crimes led to more than 20 years behind bars, and at one stage she was Britain's longest-serving living female prisoner. In a book published

in 2019 after her release, she disclosed the reality of being locked up with two of Britain's most evil women – Myra Hindley and Rose West. West, now 71, was handed a life sentence in

1995 for aiding her husband Fred in raping and murdering at least 12 women and girls at their Cromwell Street house in Gloucester. She's currently held in HMP New Hall where 'she

can barely walk and has no friends', reports the Mirror. Hindley also received a life sentence for the torture and murder of five children alongside her partner Ian Brady during the

1960s. Fred and Rose West are currently the subject of a Netflix documentary, Fred and Rose West: A British Horror Story. It includes previously unseen footage from the horrific dungeon

where the evil duo committed some of their heinous murders, reports Chronicle Live. Reflecting on her time behind bars, Calvey said: "I was in Durham prison. Myra and Rose were both

there too. They used to sit ­together and became very pally but then suddenly they stopped talking. I think Rose's solicitor told her it doesn't look good." Calvey also

commented on West's unpredictable temperament, which could be triggered by seemingly minor issues. "I saw her go into a rant once and it looked like toothpaste coming out of her

mouth. "She was foaming like a mad person. She was upset about a drink driver who ran over a cyclist. We were in a debating class where they look through the papers and get us to

discuss something. She kept screaming, 'It's disgusting, his poor family." She added: "She also got upset when her cell was set on fire and it nearly killed her budgie.

She went to pieces. "She was sobbing over this little bird, begging them not to let it die." Calvey revealed further: "She was so angry at Fred for hanging himself. We all

heard the boys chanting next door 'Fred is dead' and she was the only one who didn't know what it meant at the time." During her imprisonment, Calvey started collecting

mementos made or given to her by infamous inmates. She obtained a cushion made by West. Hindley gave her a nightie, a cardigan, some Christmas cards, and an empty heart-shaped box. Calvey

spoke of Moors murderer Hindley, who she once slapped in jail, as looking more like a "suburban ­housewife" than a monster, complete with pink nail polish and a flowing kaftan.

Hindley had an unexpected fear of spiders, once desperately calling on Calvey to remove one from her cell." "She screamed and hid behind me and told me to kill it, saying,

'You're the Black Widow,'" recalled Calvey. "I was astounded that the woman who had murdered children could be frightened of ending a spider's life." She

observed: "That's when I noticed she had a locked briefcase under her bed. She told me it was her personal ­papers. But we weren't allowed private documents on the wing."

The contents of that locked case always intrigued her. Calvey became acquainted with Hindley during her time working as her hairdresser at Highpoint prison in Suffolk. "She was

particular about her hair as that was the only control she had over anything," disclosed Calvey. "She liked it dyed a dark shade of red once a month. And twice a week I had to wash

it. She would sit there chain smoking roll-ups. During their incarceration, Hindley introduced Calvey as her friend to Hindley's mother even suggesting Calvey speak with the older lady

over the phone. Calvey said: "She phoned her mum to say she had a lovely friend. "I'd think to myself, 'I'm not your mate'," she remarked. "My role

was purely down to being made to do her hair. She nagged me to talk to her each Sunday. I pitied her mum for having a ­daughter like that." Calvey revealed that Hindley harboured

resentment towards her victims' mothers in her final days. "She was very bitter about ­being in prison and believed she shouldn't be," she said. "She didn't

speak about her crimes except once, when she said Brady forced her to do it." Calvey first encountered the child murderer at Cookham Wood prison in Kent when she was sentenced to

three-and-a-half years for armed robbery. She said: "I worked in the library and she would take out violent and gory books that were banned to her under other people's names."

Hindley died in prison in November 2002, aged 60. Calvey also disclosed that she received marriage proposals from gang boss Reggie Kray and notorious armed robber Charles Bronson, who

recently made a fresh bid to be released from prison, aged 81. She shared: "Reggie asked me to marry him over the phone. He phoned me twice a week and I used to get bouquets of flowers

from him. "He sent me trainers once. I said it wasn't good for either of us, really thinking it wouldn't be good for me as I'd still be sitting there now if I was Mrs

Kray. Regarding Bronson, Calvey commented: "He proposed to me so many times but he's a serial proposer. ". FOR TEESSIDE UPDATES AND BREAKING NEWS DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX EVERY

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