Thefts From Conisbrough Station – Three Youthful Depredators Punished

March 1910

Mexborough and Swinton Times March 20, 1910

Thefts From Conisbrough Station

Three Youthful Depredators Punished

At the Doncaster West Riding Police Court on Wednesday morning, before Mr E Walker Jackson and Mr H Payne, Harry Simpson (14), trapper, Leslie Brown (13), and Edwin Brown (12), schoolboys, all of Denaby, were summoned, at the instance of Mr Arthur Hall, for stealing two boxes of chocolate eggs, 12 pounds of nut chocolate, six baskets of chocolate eggs, and the quantity of other sweetmeats, value 29/–, the property of the great Central Railway Company.

James Warrener, checker, in the employ of the G.C. Railway Company at Conisbrough stated that on the previous Saturday morning a van arrived from Doncaster, numbered 26257 by a great Central train. At 1.30 p.m. he examined it, and saw that there were some cases of confectionery consigned to Mr G Clarkson, Conisbrough, weighing a 1 ½ hundredweight

The cases then in good condition and he left them quite secure in the van.

On Monday morning at 10.20 he again went to the van, when he discovered that both doors are open, and that a case addressed to Mr Clarkson had been broken open, and some small boxes of confectionery were missing. Upon the floor of the van there were three carbo boxes whose contents had been extracted. The stolen articles, consisted of Easter eggs, Swiss gems and jujubes. The cases were eventually delivered, and it was then discovered that the value of the articles missing was 29/-

PC Clitheroe prove the apprehension of the boys, and said, when questioned, they admitted the theft, adding that they had eaten some of the sweets and thrown the remainder in the river. They were taken into custody this Wednesday morning.

All the prisoners pleaded guilty to the charge.

It transpired that the two younger prisoners were in no way related to each other.

Simpson was bound over and placed under the probation officer for 12 months, and the other prisoners were each ordered to receive three strokes with the birch rod.