SEQUEL TO A BIRTHDAY PARTY.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 54, 18 October 1911, Page 7

SEQUEL TO A BIRTHDAY PARTY.

Extraordinary scenes occurred during uic early nours of August 21 in iownley Street, Walwortn, Soutn London. A family, comprising fattier, mother, and two sons and otliers, barricaded themselves inside their house. They then started to hurl articles of furniture through the windows, and soon the street was in an uproar. Chairs, fenders, and other household articles came flying through the windows, and wore dashod to the ground. Tne police were called, but were .unable to gain admittance to the house. The neighbours retaliated by throwing brickbats stripped from the wall, and a fusillade was kept up for two hours. By this time hundreds of people were crowding into the neighbourhood. The police were reinforced, but had considerable difficulty in keeping the people back. At last the crowd broke through the police cordon, and made for the house.' They were met by the whole of a window being thrown down on their heads.. Ultimately they surged through ,neighbouring houses, pulled down the', partitions separating thp backyards, smashed the hack windows, and entered the house. The scone was a riotous one. The house had been denuded of nearly every article of furniture. Two occupants were found in a cupboard, and three vthers under a bed, and it is stated that two arrests were made. The whole affair is said to be due to the fact that the household had been '■olehrating a birthday.