Edith Walker, a married woman of Cheshunt, had been seen by PC Brown to be drunk in charge of a push-cart. There had been a child in the cart. She was seen, in Waltham Cross, to be all over the footpath and incapable of taking charge of either herself or the child. PC Brown needed the assistance of another officer to convey her to the Police Station.
At the subsequent hearing, Sgt Drew was able to prove three convictions for similar offences by the same woman within the last twelve months. The defendant’s husband, on addressing the Bench, said that he was sorry to be there, but that it had been a continual round of intemperance with his wife, and that the last twelve months had been ‘a dog’s life’ for him. He explained that his wife had been earning enough money for the drink through her work as a needlewoman, but that she always wanted to drink out rather than at home.
When sentenced by the Bench to two weeks in gaol, the defendant asked if she could be fined instead, but the Chairman said “No, you’ve been fined enough already. If you come back again, I might just send you to an inebriates’ home for three years.”
Those local public houses known to her were warned, on instructions from the Bench, against serving her.
Add your comment about this page