BURGLARS DISTURBED

Hawera Star, Volume L, 29 November 1930, Page 5

BURGLARS DISTURBED

CONSTABLE ON THE SPOT. FRUITLESS BACKYARDS CHASIi. (By Teiegrapt Press Association.; BLENHEIM, Nov. 29. Two daring thieves were operating at Blenheim in the early hours of yesterday morning when, after making an unsuccessful attempt to enter a shop in Alfred Street, they were surprised in the act of getting together their “swag” in premises in Market Street North occupied by Clifford McKay, mercer and men’s outfitter. They stole a sum of £2 in money and decamped when disturbed, abandoning the bundles of goods which they had apparently intended to remove. Mr. McKay, summoned by the police early in the morning, arrived at the shop to learn that the front door had been burst open and the place ransacked. The door which had been forced bore marks of an inch-wide .jemmy just below the lock. The contents ot the shop had been turned topsy-turvy, the floor and counter being littered with stock, while the marauders had sorted over, .selecting the best quality articles for removal. Constable Morrison who was on night duty, say a light burning in the shop window at McKay’s premises and proceeded to investigate. With consummate coolness the thieves, in order to work in comfort, had switched on the light inside the shop, but unknown to them the switch also operated lights in the window, which attracted the constable’s atention. When he approached a man who had an armful of clothing dropped his swag and, eluding the constable, bolted from the premises. Behind the counter was another man in the act of pocketing money just removed from the till. He wore an overcoat, the collar of which was turned well up, and had his hat pulled down over his eyes. The astonished burglar turned and fled into a back room when he saw the constable, and the latter immediately gave chaise, expecting to trap the thief However, the burglars had prepared for a hurried departure by opening the back door as well as the front, and the constable’s quarry showed a clean pair of heels in making a getaway through the backyards of adjoining premises. Tt was discovered later in the morning that an attempt had also been made to force the door of F. Thomas’ tobacconist shop in Alfred Street, but the lock had resisted the attack. It is believed that the same men were concerned because the marks on the door tally with the size of the jemmy used to effect the entry into McKay’s premises.