Sheffield Daily Telegraph – Tuesday 08 January 1929

Wath Man’s Prisoner

Sanitary Official Escapes through Window

The story of a Wath man’s effort to imprison a sanitary inspector, were skate through a bathroom window, was told at Rotherham West, Riding Court yesterday by Mr A.H.Jackson, prosecuting Thomas Parkes, miner, of Oak Road, Wath on Dearne for obstructing the inspector.

Mr Jackson (for the Wath Urban District Council) said the sanitary inspector had been to serve a notice upon the defendant because his house was infested with vermin. He went to the house on November 23 to see if the notice had been obeyed. The door was opened by the defendant, who gave the inspector permission to enter the house. Potts then said: “You are just the man I want to see,” and asked who had given information about his house. Inspector refused to say and defendant then locked the door, remarking: “You are not going to leave this house until you tell me.”

The Inspector still refused (said Mr Jackson) and Parkes said: “If you don’t tell me you can stop here all night.” He threatened to beat the inspector.

The inspector, however, had noticed that the bathroom window had been removed, and he ran into the bathroom and locked the door. He then escaped through the window.

After evidence had been given by Harry Taylor, the inspector, Park said that when he locked the door he did not know the man was a sanitary inspector. He denied that Taylor said he was an inspector. He came to the house and said because he was going through it.”

Defendant was fined 40 shillings