SCALED PRISON WALL

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8339, 28 January 1913, Page 7

SCALED PRISON WALL

REMARKABLE FEAT OF AGILITY

AND NERVE.

PERFORMED BY JUVENILE

PRISONER,

Press Association,

AUCKLAND, January 27.

On Saturday afternoon a young Australian named John Bandley who had been arrested for theft on Wednesday night, and had admitted being the perpetrator of burglaries in tho City Chambers on the previous Monday, made his escape from custody at Auckland police station. Ho had been kept at the police station, while on remand, on account of bis youth, to prevent his being lodged in tho company of old criminals. At the gaol he was allowed the liberty of the exercise yard, being looked up occasionally by one of tho constables on 3.30 o’clock on Saturday afternoon he was in the yard, but when a constable looked in a couple of hours later Bandley was gone. Ho left ample evidence behind of how he had made his exit, most unusual _ ingenuity having been shown by him in his uso of the scant furniture of the cells to enable him to scale sheer up-and-down concrete wall 16ft high. - 1 He took advantage of the fact that his cell was near tho corner of two walls of the yard, and that the door opened outwards from one wall and could bo swung back to touch tho other wall. Ho pushed the door back to this position, and fitted a broom in the doorway so as to keep the door firmly back. Thon the prisoner got three cell buckets, which ho placed one above the other on top of tho door, steadied against the angle of tho two walls. This reached about 9ft up tho wall, and, as Bandley is a couple of inches under sft in height, it did not enable him to roach tho top of the wall. Ho consequently collected a number of blankets from some unoccupied cells and added these to his improvised ladder, thus getting it sufficiently high to enable him to make his escape, though he must have had to make a spring from a rather awkward take-off to get a clutch on tho rounded top of tho wall.

Tho whole thing was ingenious, but at tho same time highly dangerous, requiring a remarkable amount of agility and nerve on tho jiart of the performer to carry out without suffering a very nasty fall. Onco Bandley got to the top of tho wall thero was no difficulty in the way of his making his escape unobserved. Up to dato nothing further has been heard of tho. escapee. , Ho gave his ago as fifteen years, and, though ho is of small stature for that ago, it is believed that he is in reality older. Ho is small, but wiry and very active.

ESCAPEE RECAPTURED AT DEVONPDRT.

Press Association

AUCKLAND, January 27

Bandley was recaptured at Dovonport at 5.30 p.m. to-day. It is supposed that ho took a dinghy from Freeman’s Bay and rowed across the harbour to Devonport. Ho discarded the dinghy and hid in a shrubbery in a garden. The police searched "the garden without success. Subsequently tho police wore informed that ho was hiding in a house, and on a search .being made he was recaptured.