Locals fear a serial killer called 'The Pusher' after 85 bodies were pulled from a canal.

Since 2008, 85 corpses have been fished out of waterways in and around Manchester.

The majority of them were men in their late teens and early 20s and many of the bodies were located around Canal Street, home to many of the city’s gay bars and restaurants.

The deaths have prompted speculation that a serial killer – dubbed ‘The Pusher’ by local media (after the method of the alleged murders) – is on the loose.

New documentary Manchester’s Serial Killer? by UK’s Channel 4 has investigated whether a predator is at large, lurking late at night in the city’s streets and pushing people into the canals to watch them drown.

Despite being repeatedly denied by police, speculation and rumours about the existence of a secret serial killer went wild on Twitter last January after a psychology professor said the multitude of bodies recovered from the water could not all be accidental deaths.

Not one of the 60 bodies pulled from the network of canals within the north-western English city has been recorded as a crime, the Daily Express reports.

But Birmingham City University head of psychology Professor Craig Jackson says it is “extremely unlikely” that the alarming number of bodies found in the canals were a result of suicides or accidents.

“Canals are not popular suicide spots, especially for men,” Prof Jackson said.

“They are, however, popular dumping sites. And water can be a sure way to erase DNA evidence.

“Studies of predatory serial offenders show that isolated and secluded areas, such as waterways, populated by drunk or drugged individuals who are suggestible and compliant and who may be from minority groups can provide ideal circumstances for those committing serial crimes.”

According to the Daily Express, he said the gender and ages of the potential victims indicated there could be a sexual motive behind the deaths.

“I think the fact that several of these discoveries were made in Manchester’s Gay Village could also be significant,” he said.

“Do we have another ‘gay slayer’ like Colin Ireland [a serial killer who murdered five homosexual men in London] on the loose?”

But Greater Manchester Police said rumblings of a serial killer in the midst were purely speculation.

Detective Chief Superintendent Russ Jackson told Salford Online last year: “The most important thing for me is the families of these victims.”

“People have sadly lost loved ones in such circumstances and this will have brought it all back to them, which is the most upsetting thing.

“I am satisfied that there is no evidence whatsoever of a serial killer.”

It’s a touchy subject that is causing division amongst locals, with some relatives of the deceased calling for the deaths to be reviewed and others, including a local councillor, calling for an end to the conjecture.

Let’s hope speculation is all it is…

*Feature image of Canal Street, Manchester by Ian Roberts/Flickr.