Mexborough and Swinton Times September 27, 1935
Bicycle Thieves
Betrayed By Orchard Robbery
Denaby Policeman’s Smartness
The smartness of a Denaby policeman led to the appearance of three men at the Doncaster Borough Court on Tuesday, charged with stealing bicycles.
Albert Leslie Stott (19) of Regent Place, Mexborough was sent to prison for six weeks; Charles Williams spring (25), Founder Lane next was committed for three months; and Leonard Mangham (20) Albert Street, Swinton for six months.
Stott and Spring were charged with being concerned together in stealing, on September 13, for the free racecourse at Doncaster, a bicycle, value £5, property of Michael Turpin, of Dunscroft. Stott pleaded guilty and Spring not guilty.
Stott, Spring and Mangham were charged together with stealing on July 19 from a bicycle at Balby Feast a quantity of tools and accessories, value £3.10 shilling, the property of Robert Fletcher, Emerson Avenue Staples. Spring pleaded Not Guilty and the other men Guilty.
P.C.Heaver, of Denaby, said he saw two men stealing pairs in an orchard at High Melton. Their bicycles were outside the Orchard. The men were Spring and Stott. Spring ran away, but he questioned Stott and, not satisfied, detained him at Denaby until the enquiries by telephone established the fact that they had been concerned in bicycle thefts. Both men gave false names and addresses. Stott gave a false story and, after further questioning, said: “Me and Spring pinched a cycle from the free course yesterday. We did it and dismantled it this morning. We hear some of the parts in the root of a fallen tree.”
Witness went with other officers to Sandal Beat Wood and recovered the frame and parts of the bicycle.
Chief Inspector Wyldes there was no doubt that the three prisoners and be good about some time stealing cycle from feast grounds and other places will stop in this case to bicycles and not be recovered. The police are great difficulty in working this case all, owing to the amount of stuff that are been interchange from one bicycle to another. The number of bicycles that have been stolen in Doncaster this year was appalling, and the police had no chance of recovering them except by luck.
On the same morning, immediately prior to the hearing of the above case, Mangham appeared at the Doncaster West Riding Court or sent to prison for a month for stealing a gun, belonging to Cyril W Scott, farmer of old Denaby. Receiving a good 92 are been stolen, his father, Arthur Mangham, was fined 10 shillings.