A VALUABLE horse was found straying in the town by a constable on duty in Bromsgrove who placed it temporarily in a field off College Road. The animal subsequently escaped and was later found dead in a yard near the railway station, belonging to Mr Evans, a butcher. The horse, which appeared to have died a natural death, belonged to William Halfpenny, a market gardener from Bewell Head.

A TRAGIC accident involving the death of the one-year-old daughter of Mr and Mrs Stephen Knight shocked villagers in Belbroughton. A horse pulling a gig conveying MP Mr Middlemore to his home, Brookfield in the village, stumbled and swerved towards the side of the road causing a wheel to strike the bassinette in which the youngster was lying. The MP's groom was despatched to fetch medical help but the child died later in Kidderminster Infirmary from head injuries.

SARAH MacManus, from Townsend Yard, Bromsgrove, appeared at the town's police court charged with neglecting four-year-old Alice Kimberley, a child in her care, by allowing her to become badly infested with vermin. Her body was one mass of bites, magistrates heard. MacManus had a few months earlier, been given permission by the child's mother, who lived in Market Street, to bring her up as her own. The bench let her off a fine but imposed costs of 30/- (£1.50) MacManus chose seven days' jail instead and vowed not to take the child back.

A PARTY of some 25 members of the Wagon and Horses club in Droitwich journeyed to Blackpool for their annual outing. Setting off from the Spa station in their own saloon at 1.30am they reached their destination at 6.30am and spent the day visiting the various attractions, including the tower and Winter Gardens. On the way home they enjoyed a meat tea, a perfect finale to a splendid day.