He could not resist the temptation to steal

Hertfordshire Mercury, 30th November 1918

Transcript

Alphonse Walghe, a Belgian living at Letchworth, was charged with the theft of £700 from the Kryn and Lahy metal works, Letchworth, on the night of 15th to 16th November.

Emile Dox, the works’ cashier, said that having paid some of the employees, he locked over £1,000 in Treasury notes in a cash-box in the office, which was also locked.  On the morning of 16th November he found the glass panel of his office door smashed and the cash-box broken open.  The sum of £700 was missing, and there was over £400 still in the box.

Insp Warren said that on Tuesday 17th November, in response to a telephone message from a young woman, he went to the prisoner’s house.  The prisoner had blood on him and there was a bundle of notes on the table.  The prisoner said a strange foreigner had given them to him, telling him to take them to the Kryn and Lahy factory.  There were 557  £1 Treasury notes.  At the police station, the prisoner admitted the theft.  He said that when repairing the electric light he saw the cashier put the money in a box, and was tempted.  He entered the works by a ladder at 2.30 a.m., and hid the money in a spinney.  He couldn’t rest, and went to fetch the money with the intention of taking it to the police station.  On the way back, he fell from his cycle and cut himself, and told a girl in the house to send for the police.

The prisoner was committed for trial.

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