CARRIED BIG BOMB AWAY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23810, 11 November 1940, Page 7

CARRIED BIG BOMB AWAY

MAN FINED £IOO FOR LAW BREACH "SOLE IDEA TO SAVE LIVES" FAMILY'S ORDEAL IN WRECKED HOME By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright (Received November 10, 6.50 p.m.) LONDON, Nov. 9 For carrying a 1 1 01b. bomb from the third floor of a building contrary to the police regulation, Leighton Morris was fined £IOO. He told the magistrate that his sole idea was to save life. He intended to take the bomb to a park, where it could be exploded safely. Morris was arrested while carrying the bomb along the street. To make matters worse, he inadvertently allowed the: bomb to drop on his foot. The magistrate commended defendant's courage and coolness. Morris states that he will go to prison for three months rather than pay the fine. A Willesden mother, Mrs. Steptow, and her two daughters, aged five and 1 5, were brought out alive after burial far 60 hours under the debris of their home. The husband was killed. An A.R.P. worker standing on top of the rubble heard a sound, so he made a hole in the debris, put his mouth close to it and shouted. He heard a child cry, and then Mrs. Steptow called out: "What day is it?" The man replied that it was Friday, to which Mrs. Steptow exclaimed: "We have been here since Tuesday night. For God's sake get us out." Mrs. Steptow and her daughters were dragged out: five hours later. They had been sleeping under the kitchen table the house was demolished by a bomb,' but the table withstood the weight of the debris and saved their lives. The husband was killed, as he was only partly sheltered. The family usually slept in a shelter, and the neighbours therefore did not believe there was anyone under the debris of the house.