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Somerset County Herald and Taunton Courier Saturday 22 Jun 1946
Page 5 Column 4
“Skylarking” at Milverton
Theft Charge: The Sequel
A “jovial evening,” with a sing-song at the piano at a Milverton hotel, which ended in one of a party of young men stealing articles of clothing while skylarking with his friends, was described at Wiveliscombe Magistrates' Court on Thursday of last week.
The story was told when one of the party Richard Alfred COOK, baker, of No. 7 Mill-lane, Bishops's Lydeard, was charged with stealing a man's dress shirt a white dress waistcoast, a girl's skirt, and a statuette, together valued at £3 15s, the property of Mrs. Winifred STOCK manageress of the White Hart Hotel Milverton.
Norman HAYMAN of The Bakery, Ilton, said on the evening of May 18th, he drove a party, including defendant, to a dance at Milverton. They visited the White Hart Hotel, first and “had a jovial evening” in an upstairs room with a piano. When they were leaving the hotel at 10.30 p.m. Mrs STOCK asked them to “return the stuff they had taken from the hotel.” “I actually handed some things back to her.” he said. “When I drove defendant to his home at Bishop's Lydeard he showed me a white dress shirt.”
Mrs. STOCK said that in preparation for leaving the hotel (her husband having given up the licence) she was packing up and had left the articles concerned and others on a landing table.
P.C. CHILCOTT said he recovered the stolen articles at defendant's home. In a statement, COOK said: “While skylarking around I picked up and put on a shirt. Just before closing time I must have taken off the shirt and took it and other articles home with me. I did not steal them intentionally. It was all done though skylarking.”
Defendant, on oath, said he did not remember taking the articles or Mrs. STOCK speaking to them. “I had too much to drink.” he said.
HAYMAN said COOK definitely had too much to drink.
The magistrates bound defendant over for two years, and ordered him to pay costs of 17s 6d.