ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE FROM GAOL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 231, 23 June 1908, Page 8

ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE FROM GAOL.

A LOCK PICKED. ROPE ALADE OF PIECES OF BLANKET. (by TELEGitAPU—rEKSS ASSOCIATION.) Ohristchurch, June 22. Robert M'Cnrthy, a prisoner at Lyttelton Gaol, crcatotl somo oxcitement within tho walls of tho gaol on Saturday afternoon. He in getting out of his cell by opening the inner door and forcing hia way through the iron bar door bayond, when he was detected by a warder. How he intended to scale the 35ft. wail surrounding the courtyard is not known.

M Cartliy was secured and locked up in nis cell in tho solitary confinement division at noon on Saturday) and was to have been et out again at 2 p.m. About 1.30 p.m. however, a warder made an unexpected visit Mm ii/ '' ' I ' s sur l ,r ' so I'° saw M Carthy standing outside his cell door. An alarm was jgiven, and assistance was quickly to hand- The gate of the yard was opened, and M Cartliy was found hidden, but in a rery short time ho was once moro under ocli and key. • / ■ ■ i

An examination of M'Carthy's cell was mado, and it was found that by.somo means or other ho had unlocked and unbolted the inner door. Two feet away was the heavy outor door of stout iron bars. Two of the flooring boards of t.ho cell 1' been torn up, ?u i. been used to bend and force back tho bars for about severi-inchos, giving sufficient space for the prisoner to squeeze himself through to the courtyard beyond. Ho had evidently picked tho lock of the inner door and had used the boards to force tho ' , 0 - u ' : °f ; i' s socket. Once in tho couityaro M'Carthy, if he had any intention of gettin:- out of gaol, had the apparently imtask before him of scaling; smooth concroto walls 3oft. in height. There vere no projections on theso walls to „any foot or hand hold, and nothing on ton to make fast a rope to. The prisoner was'eviowitly not alone in the schemo, for on cavelul seach of 'tho cells being made a rcpe mado of pieces of McCarthy's (da jkel, and tiu.i together with pieces of his shirt, was found rolled up in a blanket in the sail occupied by'another prisoner named Allanjalo. M'Carthy's attempt at gaol-breaking is the third_ which has been made in Lyttelton Gaol during the past five or. six weeks, a prisoner named Bell having got out of gaol twico recently. The present is the fourth attempt to escapo mado by M'Carthy during loss than two'years. On the three previous occasions he succeeded in getting'dinar away from custody, but ho was soon recuptured.