LAW & ORDER – Wholesale Robberies at Redcar and Saltburn juvenile thieves

Accreditation the Redcar and Saltburn-by-the-Sea Gazette 23/01/1874

 WHOLESALE ROBBERIES AT REDCAR AND SALTBURN
JUVENILE THIEVES

            On Tuesday (21/01), at the Langbaurgh East petty sessions, three young girls, who said they had been engaged as supernumeries in the Middlesbrough pantomime, were brought up on nine different charges of larceny. Their names are Rebecca Custard, stepdaughter of James Gulliver, Moulder, 14 Elton Street, Middlesbrough; Anne Foster, 15, and Mary Foster, step-daughters of Thos. Potts, blast furnace man, 78 Duncombe Street, Middlesbrough. A host of fancy and the useful articles were stolen from the shop of Mr and. Clarkson, draper, Mr. Earl, bookmaker, Mr. Laverick, toy dealer, Mr. Yewdall, draper, Mr. Dowson, chemist, Mr. Clark, shoe maker, Mr. Inman, draper, Redcar, and Mr. Hutton. It was shown that the prisoners had run away from home on the 13^th instant, and, in the first instance went to Lofthouse, where they stayed all night with a Mr. Rowe, on call to Custard, and there they stole a sovereign and someone in and return to Saltburn, where several shops were visited, and, whilst the attention of the attendant was occupied ensuring one article for sale, the others secured whatever they could. Next day they reached Redcar, taking lodgings with a person named Jefferson in High Street, and from this centre they visited nearly every shop in the place, managing to get clear off with all kinds of articles, Mr. Clarkson missed several articles after a shop had been visited by the prisoners, and he reported his suspicions to the police, with a description of the girls, who were apprehended, and other robberies discovered. The charges of stealing the articles belonging to Mr. Clarkson, Mr. Earl, and Mr. Cunningham were taken, and in each case the prisoners pleaded guilty. Mr. Wharton said this was a very painful case. It was quite clear that this was not the first occasion of the practices being carried on. There were no less than 10 robberies traced to them. There were ordered to be imprisoned for 14 days, and then sent to a reformatory for three years each.