At Hertford Borough Sessions on Thursday, Thomas Ansell, William Trundell and William Andrews were caught gambling on the public highway on Sunday 7 October 1900. P.C. Hart said that he had been on duty that day in plain clothes, hidden near Mr Hale’s cycle works overlooking Mangrove Road, Hertford when he saw the men playing pitch and toss in the road. After watching them for about 15 minutes he crept up on them then made a rush. Ansell ran off and P.C. Hart chased after him, unsure of who he was, although he knew the other two men. He also picked up some coins from the road where they had been playing and had seen money passing between them.
Andrews denied that he was with the other two men, claiming the policeman “had a spite against him” and “was getting it home”. Ansell and Trundell pleaded guilty. All three men were fined 5 shillings and the Mayor remarked that he hoped this would be warning to them
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