ROBBERIES

Hokitika Guardian, 2 July 1932, Page 6

ROBBERIES

REMARKABLE INSTANCES,

LONDON, June 20

•Three remarkable robberies-, one by a motor bandit, one by armed; mep/. and the third by a “gentleman cracksman’’ were reported to-day. The motor bandit attacked the. village postmistress at Adstoek, .near Winslow, Bluckinghamshire. After’ a fierce struggle he. escaped with money and stamps.

The armed men. held up a Tooting tobacconist with revolvers,, ajid j-robbed the till of his shop. The “gentleman cracksman” a houstv-liy-walk-ing along a balcony from an/ empty house...adjoining and jewellery valued at £2OOO.

The man w;ho raided the Adstoek post office drove up in a . par at 11 ,a.in. .and, leaving the entered the post office ancL ? .£§ked the postmistress, Mrs alone, for a postal order. While she was preparing it he snatched /afigsome others on the counter. Airs Clarke promptly seized the postal, r> prders, stuffed them down her drossy and threw, a sweet bottle at the;,jUta-dj ."cutting. him 'on the head, -c.;>o ;o . • A fierce struggle followed^ -aipd Airs Clarke was knocked down and stuiinedi The' man then sized,--vibe . tilfc; whicli contained about £ll in cash, and a number of stamps, and ran out to,his car and drove off. When Airs Clarke recovered she called t.the^G?ol:ic,eand gave a description of ithfertfQanyf - Two men entered the shop-pL-AL JG. Brown, tobacconist, ahwqE&otihg. When Air Brown went to serve them both produced revolvers and ordered him to put his hands up. “Whether they were real revolvers or, not I could -not say,” he said afterwards, “but I did what any sensible man 1 would have done —I obeyed. One of the men emptied the till of 30s while the other covered me? with ‘.the

■) !- r weapon. ' ' “I think there was another main Standing outside, for ./!:.th4yi»;rjshouted something which I could not understand and then rushed out mf ■'■'the shop and banged .the door behind them. “My-r wiffe had fainted, ami I" MB to. get heF back from the' shop inttii the living room. Before I could getlanft ;nd give the alarm the men liad .diVappeared.” > •. The well-dressed and burglar who broke into the house of Mrs ft. W. Sharpies, in Cadogan •Place, and stole jewels valued at £2OOO, owes his escape to his remark-; tyhle coolness 1 and politeness. ‘-h : b"

s The" mail entered an empty •• jdrouse next door, walked along the übalcany' to Mrs Sharpies’ residence, forced od Window, and climbed into a bedroom. A maid, who. heard a noise, went up,£taira and met the burglar leaving ‘the- ■' bedrdom. " • ' •smiling. “You need; not worry,” and "before the maid "had recovered from Ijjpr surprise ho had run along the bal;cony and escaped by the way lie en-. fcered. , . 1 .