Down Memory Lane - August 28

Aug 28 2008 by Lesley Brown, Hamilton Advertiser

BEFORE Bailie Hamilton at the Burgh Police Court, a miner from Young Street was charged with having quarrelled and fought with another miner. Hugh Gallocher made a guilty plea. However, he went on to say that he’d only been acting in self-defence, and that the other man had started the fight.

The fiscal  stated that the other miner, Francis Graham, had made the same plea at his own trial the week before.

Turning to the accused, the fiscal asked what had been done with Mr Graham’s beer. Mr Gallocher replied: “I threw it over him.”

With two previous convictions, Mr Gallocher was given a fine of 25 shillings with the option of 25 days’ imprisonment.

AN early-morning blaze in Ashgill destroyed two garages and a vehicle. It started in a garage owned by Hogg Bros, and had taken hold by the time the fire brigade were summoned. They arrived quickly and attempted to tackle the flames, which engulfed three garages in total. The garages, which were wooden, were situated about 50 yards from the main Netherburn road. Hoggs’ garage was overcome with flames and helpers could not get close, however they were able to save a vehicle from the adjoining garage, owned by a Mr Marshall, a fruiterer.

Both Mr Marshall and the Hoggs relied on the premises for their means of livelihood – but sadly their garages could not be saved.

A BOYS’ Brigade captain and church elder from Stonehouse was sentenced to 30 days’ imprisonment for theft.

The man admitted at Lanark Sheriff Court to having taken a total of £149 in two separate thefts from the Co-op in Lesmahagow.

An employee of the Co-op, working in the grocery department, the accused took cash that should have been deposited in the store’s safe. On the first occasion, £44 was taken, and £105 was taken the second time.

Sheriff Johnston said that while he accepted the act was probably committed on the “spur of the moment”, the thefts were still “perfectly deliberate” and the sums large.

A HAMILTON man appeared before Bailie McMenemey at Hamilton Burgh Court charged with offences involving a black pudding.

Police had seen the man walking along High Blantyre Road eating from a paper wrapper.

As they watched, the man dropped the wrapper to the ground, keeping a black pudding which he continued to eat. Police charged the man under the Litter Act.

The man then asked: “You mean if I dropped this black pudding you’d book me?” After replying in the affirmative, police were forced to charge the man again as he let the black pudding drop to the ground. Fines of £5 were imposed for each of the two charges.

A MOTHERWELL man’s late-night “prank” cost him £160 in fines and an 18-month driving ban at Hamilton Sheriff Court.

The man admitted stealing a car and driving without due care and attention and causing it to collide with a van.

In addition, he admitted failing to stop after an accident, driving without insurance and drink-driving.

After returning from a boozing session, the 23-year-old decided to move his neighbour’s car from one side of the building to the other... for a joke. In doing so, he struck a parked van. The accused, who had two previous convictions, paid for repairs to the car, plus his fine.

A LANARKSHIRE nurses’ strike was narrowly avoided when pay deal talks were resumed. The talks concerned the future wage-grading of the county’s 5500 nurses.

Nursing staff were angered that a review into pay concluded that they should be graded according to managerial responsibility rather than clinical responsibility. This would have resulted in all nurses who wished to further their career and improve their pay prospects being required to leave the bedside to train as managerial nurses. Allan Wilson from the nursing trade union NUPE said health authorities like Lanarkshire Health Board had “lost sight of the reasons for the review.”

ELECTRONIC tagging was introduced at Hamilton Sheriff Court by the Home Office. Scottish Home Affairs Minister Henry McLeish visited East Kilbride to launch the Restricted Liberty Order (RLO) community sentence scheme. Hamilton Sheriff Court were to trial the RLO scheme for one year when considering the sentencing of criminals.

The non-custodial tagging scheme, first trialled in Manchester and Norwich in 1995, was brought about to reduce prison overcrowding.

The device looked like a diver’s watch and was strapped round the wrist or ankle. A fibre optic cable within it sent signals back to a monitoring box, fitted in the offenders home.

If the device was cut, an alert was triggered immediately at the control centre.