What an idiot

A THIEF who was wanted in connection with arson, made his getaway on a cruiser on the Kennet & Avon Canal—up the Caen Hill Flight!

Needless to say the police very soon caught up with him as he struggled alone and of course did not know how to operate locks, and he was arrested, adding even more to his problems by setting the cruiser alight, Keith Gudgin tells us.

Attempted to turn in lock

The owner of the cruiser, Lionel Gordon, reported the theft to the police, who arrested the man who had the boat stuck in one of the early locks by attempting to turn it round inside the lock chamber, realising it would take too long to work the entire flight of 16 locks.

The man had been on a arson spree, first setting alight a bag of rubbish inside a derelict building, then a wooden shed, then doused a mowing machine with petrol and set it alight.

Finally, when he realised he could not escape in the cruiser, he set that alight, but the fire fighters who had also attended quickly doused it before it did real damage.