South Yorkshire Times, January 4, 1958
Placed On Probation
Conisbrough Man’s Strange Thefts
Women’s underclothing kept mysteriously disappearing from a Conisbrough house. The police were informed and when the 59- years-old gardener who was employed at the house was interviewed by them he pulled a pair of pink cotton knickers from his pocket and said. “I took these today.’
This was stated at Doncaster West Riding court on Tuesday when Edward Barrow of Leslie, Avenue, Conisbrough, pleaded guilty to stealing 19 pairs of ladies’ knickers and panties ‘and 7/6 cash belonging to Mrs. V. Slater of Buckingham Road, Conisbrough. He was placed on probation for a year and ordered to pay £2/10/-compensation.
Chief Inspector 3. W. Nichols said Mrs. Slater was the wife of the manager of Cadeby Colliery and Barrow was employed as gardener at the house. He said the underclothing kept disappearing from an airing cupboard over a period of weeks so the police were Informed.
Barrow was seen and he was said to have told the police, “I have stolen a few pairs of knickers from my boss’s house over the past weeks. I keep the knickers in my pocket and when I’m done with them I use them for rags.”
Barrow’s wife said they had been married for 20 years. “I’m absolutely disgusted” she told the magistrates.