Commuters in London found themselves shoulder to shoulder with an unexpected travel companion, as a suspicious character was spotted lugging a ‘freshly exhumed corpse’ across the capital during the morning rush hour.

The ‘body’, wrapped in a hessian sack and carried by a man in muddy Victorian clothing, was seen travelling on the tube at Waterloo, being wrestled across Westminster Bridge and smuggled along the South Bank.

On closer inspection, the man and the ‘body’ were in fact making their way to the London Dungeon ahead of the South Bank attraction’s new show, Bodysnatchers, which launches on Thursday 28th July.

It tells the twisted and terrifying tale of the real-life London Burkers – John Bishop, Thomas Williams and James May – who were notorious for stealing bodies and snatching people to sell to various hospitals around London, including St Bartholomew’s, St Thomas’ and King’s College.

Speaking about the grisly preview of the show on the capital’s streets, a London Dungeon spokesperson said: “We had a lot of double takes, shocked faces and a couple of people crossing to the other side of the street. But many saw the funny side with some stopping to make sure it wasn’t a ‘real’ body in there!

“We can’t wait to welcome everyone to our new show Bodysnatchers, which is built from the very real, dark and dangerous history of our own city.”

The London Burkers, or Body Snatchers, were notorious in the 1830s and operated out of Shoreditch – living near to St Leonard’s Church and drinking (and abducting victims) from The Birdcage, a pub in the area still standing today.

The Bodysnatchers show runs from July 28 to September 4 and is included in the standard London Dungeon ticket price.

With 17 shows and thrilling rides, the London Dungeon promises to bring the city’s dark history to life delivering ample scream-drenched stories and fear-inducing shocks for a summer holiday experience that guests will never forget.