CITY BURGLARY.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 155, 4 July 1927, Page 8

CITY BURGLARY.

IN RUTLAND STREET. FACTORY EftTEHED AND RANSACKED. AFTERWARDS SET OX FIRE. Apparently another epidemic of burglaries prevails. Several have occurred recently. '1 he latest case reported is a s erious one, for the burglar evidently, to hide his tracks, made a determined attempt to set a factory on fire. J Last week two sheds were wilfully ?et on fire in Sturdee Street. Last night the Normal School was, it is thought bv the superintendent of the fire brigade, wilfully set on fire. Xot 200 yards away from the Xonnal i School is Mr. T. C. Grant's electric and | acetone welding works, Xo. 3, Rutland | Street. Mr. Frederick Sullivan, aruia- I • nre winder, occupies a portion of these I premises in connection with his business. His small factory is partitioned off from Mr. Grant's factory. Yesterday afternoon, or evening, a burglar visited the premises, gaining entrance from the right-of-way by smashing two small windows. After getting inside the intruder forced his way into Mr. Grant's office, which he thoroughly ransacked, books, papers and documents being found thrown on the floor when Mr. Grant opened his factory - this morning. A fountain-pen value £2 10/ and nearly £1 worth of postage stamps were stolen from this office. A number of matches were also strewn on the floor, while a whole box of burnt matches was found in a corner. Evi- ! dentlv the burglar set them on fire and j left them in the corner. ! A determined attempt to set Mr. Sullivan's shop ablaze was afterwards made. Climbing over the partition, the burglar burst open a locker containing lengths of valuable electric wire used in wiring motors. However, none of this was touched, the thief contenting himself with appropriating Mr. Sullivan's overcoat. He then poured kerosene on the floor and set alight to it, for a number of matches were discovered on the floor. However, the factory did not burst into fire. A hole about 2ft in diameter was burnt in the floor between the flooring joists. The fire, not having any draught, burnt itself out. "It was a jolly good job it did burn itself out," Mr. Sullivan told a "Star" reporter this morning, "for I have several hundred pounds' worth of electric, motors here that don't belong to me and that are ont insured."