POTATO RAIDERS

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 91, 5 July 1930, Page 6

POTATO RAIDERS

YOUNG MEN IN TROUBLE ONE. SENTENCED TO BORSTAL DETENTION WELLINGTON, July 4. Wholesale raids on potato and vegetable paddocks of farmers near Christchurch led to the appearance of two young men before Mr E. Page, S.M., in tin 1 Magistrate’s Court to-day, jointly charged on four counts of stealing potatoes and vegetables of a total value of £4 Ids. Their names wore: Homy Hugh Donald Hamilton, aged 20. and Aubrey Lawrence Robinson, aged 19. Robinson, in addition, was charged separately. mi, two counts, with the theft of potatoes valued at £1 Ids, Both pleaded guilty. Doted ive Sergeant Holmes said that the accused associated with a third man, commenced raids on the potatoes of fanners on the outskirts of Christchurch. The third man had been dealt with in Christchurch and had been admitted to probation 12 month The Probation Officer (Mr T. P. Mills) said that Robinson was well worthy of a chance, but Hamilton’s character was not at all satisfactory. Ho was really a case for the Borstal. The Magistrate admitted Robinson to probation for 12 months, a condition being that he made restitution to the value of 14s (1.1, and Hamilton was sentenced to two years’ borstal detention