A RECENT spate of motor car accidents prompted members of Bromsgrove Urban District Council to call on the town's police to look at ways of preventing drivers from speeding. It was said cars were often driven at 'reckless' speeds through the town and it was only a matter of time before a fatality occurred.

OLIVER Gardener, a tramp, appeared before Bromsgrove Police Court charged with begging for food at Catshill vicarage. He told magistrates he had not eaten since leaving Stourport but was found to have 6/1 (31p) in his pocket when arrested. Magistrates decided seven days' hard labour would help cure his idleness. And because he was so well off they made him pay for his own transport to Worcester Jail to serve his sentence and also the fee for someone to accompany him there.

A SERIOUS fire caused £600 worth of damage to Mr Smith's cycle workshop in Post Office Lane, Droitwich. 24 cycles and a motor bike were destroyed and adjacent property was also damaged. Helpers freed the horses from stables at Mr Skerret's carriage business next door and wheeled his vehicles into Queen Street. They covered nearly half its length. The heat was such that onlookers were forced to retreat to the grassy slopes of the Royal Bath's grounds. But, Mr Banks, an old man of 62, who lived in a cottage nearby objected to this and began pushing the crowd off, whereupon he fell down dead. The Messenger said the cause was 'excitement.'

THE wary Guardians at Bromsgrove Workhouse were cautious about a new scheme which meant they would be responsible for feeding any undernourished elementary schoolchild in the district. Residents would shoulder the cost as part of their rates.