CRACKSMAN AT NINE.

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 291, 21 November 1936, Page 6 (Supplement)

CRACKSMAN AT NINE.

DESTRUCTIVE BURGLARY BY A BOY. MISTAKEN FOR THAT OF AN OLD HAND. Burglary by a boy of nine was declared id Colwyn Bay, Denbighshire. Io have been so cleverly executed that the police mistook it for the work of an old hand. . After his career had been described, the lad was sent to an approved school tor live years. The exploit which deceived the police was said to have been carried out when the boy and two oilier children, aged four and three, broke into a joinery shop. He removed one pane-.of glass to get into the office, where lie stole three fountain pens, and another pane Io enable him to enter the workshop. The owner found tools scattered, thousands of nails and screws strewn and buried in the sawdust ou the floor, two gallons of creosote splashed about and painted on walls, and the first-aid box opened and iodine bandages scattered. one of two housebreaking offences which the boy asked to be.taken into consideration concerned an unoccupied dwelling at Rhos-on-Sea, from which he was said to have taken property worth £3i, including a camera, binoculars, toy trains, a model farmyard, and preserved fruit. The boy broke into this house in company with a five-year-old girl. Police declared every room had been entered, the contents of cupboards, bookcases, and wardrobes being strewn about, and tins of preserved fruit and meats opened. A bottle of Martini and a bottle of elder had been sampled. The dining - room resembled a “shambles.’’ The blinds were drawn and a tire lit. One end of the polished table was covered with a mixture of Hour, sugar, and jam, the result of an attempt to bake a cake. The other end was littered with pieces of preserved fruit on plates and saucers. A teapot contained a mixture of tomato sauce and jam. Sugar had been scattered all over the carpet, and candle grease was on the furniture. On the bureau was left a note, signed by the boy and addressed to another boy. It read: “You have to be in our royal gang.— By order.”