There's a menace stalking the streets of London's East End. It lurks in corners and roams unchecked down dark alleys. It is there every night when evening draws in, unflinchingly leaving wrath and consternation in its wake.

Yes, Jack the Ripper is on the loose. Or rather, his legacy is – the non-stop, money-spinning merry-go-round of Jack the Ripper tours.

London's most infamous and fascinating serial killer has long attracted amateur sleuths and normal punters alike to the streets of Whitechapel, and it was inevitable that enterprising businesses would spring up in the wake of such voracious interest.

However, over the past few years, what started life as a fairly niche attraction has evolved into an unwieldy and unregulated beast, with multiple companies each running several tours a night, every night, trooping groups of 50-plus tourists round the same small area of streets. The recent alleged unveiling of the killer's identity has only added to the peculiar preoccupation people have with the case.

Now, after enduring years of this constant tourist traffic, many residents are starting to fight back.

Rachel*, a tour guide with one of the bigger operations, admits she has had to deal with various forms of abuse of late. “Sometimes you get shouted at by local residents or threatened with on the spot fines. It's usually harmless, but it's not very pleasant,” she says.

“I've stopped in front of a coffee shop before, and they cranked the music right up so that no one could hear me; I had no choice but to move on. Shopkeepers will occasionally 'decide' to put their shutters down really noisily just as you stop outside. Students will flash laser lights from their keychains in your eyes from the windows of their accommodation.

“There's often this feeling that we're not very welcome.”

In fact, when Rachel was shadowing her first ever session, the tour guide was actually hosed by a resident from a rooftop balcony.

Despite being on the receiving end, she understands the hostility: “I get it – 400 people are walking past their window every night, it must be incredibly irritating.”

The outfit she works for aren't even the worst of it; she tells of how other tour guides use megaphones to be heard, and how some will take on groups of up to 100 at once.

The same issues that are angering residents are equally becoming drawbacks for the tour-goers themselves. Rachel's company alone will run up to five tours a night depending on demand, and with every group visiting all the same spots on a similar route, it's inevitable that things get extremely crowded. Mitre Square, in particular – the site of the second murder – will frequently have seven or so tour groups in it at once.

One punter railed on TripAdvisor: “The place was absolutely swarming with 'authentic' ripper tours. Whitechapel was literally awash with tour groups and it was hard to concentrate with so many people in the same area. Our tour group was made up of 50 people, which was way too many.”

While these tours undoubtedly bring a lot of business into the area, conversely they also get other customers' backs up – and, taking place every day bar Christmas and Boxing Day, there really is no respite for those who live or work in Spitalfields and the surrounding area.



The Ten Bells in Spitalfields (Photo: Alamy)

Hannah, a local resident who lives just off Brick Lane, says: “It's relentless. Imagine if hundreds of strangers were tramping noisily through your back yard every day – would you be happy about it?

“I can't walk home without hearing 'mumble mumble PLACENTA mumble mumble.'”

But while the appetite for Ripper-related tourism goes on, the ceaseless tours will continue, until Whitechapel has reached saturation point – if it hasn't already.

“I feel really sorry for the East Enders subjected to this several times a day,” says Sophie Campbell, Telegraph Travel's resident London expert and a qualified Blue Badge guide. “The wonderful irony is that there is virtually nothing to see on these tours – almost all the original sites have been knocked down or rebuilt to such an extent they are unrecognisable.”

Are you fed up of tours on your doorstep? Let us know @TelegraphTravel

(*Names have been changed)

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