POLICEMEN IN-MAZE

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 53, Issue 251, 4 August 1933, Page 3

POLICEMEN IN-MAZE

"LOST" BURGLAR HUNT. FUGITIVES SURPRISE BATH. The Swan Inn at Ash Vale, Hampshire, known affectionately to hundreds of tliousantls of army men all over tiio world as "Tuppeu'V was the scene of an unrehearsed comedy on a recent Sunday night when a would-be burglar and iiis pursuers became involved, in an overgrown maze attached to the inn. In the cool bar, which has so often resounded to tlie "tread of military feet, the proprietor next day related what happened, while faded brown photographs of "fupper" with his luxuriant fringe of snowy whisker, beamed down from the walls. About half-past eleven the proprietor's wife saw an unknown man hanging around the inn and called her husband, who shouted and gave chase, while she telephoned to the police. The burglar ran violently into a gate —and dived into the dark waters of the Basingstoke canal. He clambered out- as speedily as possible, and ran down an alley behind a hedge, the inn proprietor trying to head him off. The burglar, still dripping, then retreated into the maze, with the object of baffling his pursuer. In this he was entirely successful, the only drawback being that he also baffled himself, and could not find his way out. The maze is a natural one formed of light hedges, now so overgrown as to form virtual tunnels. To follow the burglar into it alone was a dangerous course, as he was armed with a pint bottle. Passing motorists were stopped and illuminated the maze with their headlights. Policemen to the number of 18, arrived from nearby police station, and surrounded the maze, in which the burglar could be heard crashing round through the undergrowth as he explored every avenue. The police then, closed on the centre. Or at least, that was the idea. Unfortunately, the policemen also became lost, and the affair began to look like a rehearsal for tho Aldershot Tattoo. Awe-struck, the non-combatants stood round in the eerie glare of the headlights while wild shouts arose from the 18 benighted policemen as they mulled round in tho labyrinth, it was some hours before they could be extricated by which time it was discovered that the burglar had escaped. The writer said: "I inspected the scene, or as much as the impact of 36 constabulary boots had left of it, and I can state with confidence that no stone had been left unturned."