BILLIARDS TABLES SLASHED

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27637, 19 April 1955, Page 11

BILLIARDS TABLES SLASHED

VANDALS ENTER SALOON The valuable cloths of eight billiards tables were slashed and the room housing the tables was left in a shambles by vandals who entered the Central Billiards Saloon, Worcester street, between Saturday evening and yesterday morning. Each of the eight cloths were slashed beyond repair. The estimated cost of recovering the tables is about £4O.

On the Saturday evening the proprietor of the saloon, Mr F. J. Marshall, was involved in a fight with three young men who refused to pay Is for a game of billiards. The scene that greeted Mr Marshall when he arrived at the saloon early yesterday morning was one of confusion. Tobacco, cakes, and cigarettes and sweets were strewn across the floor of the huge room, and the eight tables with their covers thrown back were slashed and unusable. The damage to the tables was not limited to the cloths, however. Deep marks had been gauged out of the slate beds of the tables when the cloths were cut. Many may have to be replaced, as the tables are useless unless the balls run true.

The damage done is not covered by insurance. Mr Marshall had been in the business for about six years. He is a former serviceman. He now thinks he might sell the business. On the Saturday evening Mr Marshall was hit over the head by a billiard cue wielded by one of the three men involved in the fight. One of the cues was broken. Mr Marshall suffered an injury to an ear. The premises had been entered by a window leading off a fire escape.