Manure thrown into gardens.
Poltergeist blamed.
Incidents in the gardens of two Bewdley bungalows, which caused trouble between their occupiers, might have been due to a poltergeist, Mr M.F. James said at Bewdley Magistrates’ Court yesterday. He was appearing on behalf of Alfred Edwards and his wife, Mary Edwards, of Dry Mill Lane, Bewdley, who both denied assaulting their neighbour, Mrs Edna May Marsh.
It was alleged that a heap of manure was thrown from one garden to the other and back, that for over a week, red shale came over the hedge into one garden, and that a bank was repeatedly interfered with.
“Things have been happening in Dry Mill Lane for which no one there is responsible,” Mr James said. “But the feeling between the two neighbours has been such that each has automatically blamed the other for what has happened. It may be that a poltergeist has been at work, throwing things about on the lawn and pulling up shrubs and knocking down branches. There has been misunderstanding between the neighbours, because no one has tried to decide what the cause of the trouble has been.”
The alleged assault was said to have occurred after the incident of the manure. It was said that after one of the banks in his garden had been repeatedly disarranged, Edwards had asked Mr Marsh if he had any idea who had done it, but he had not accused him.
The magistrates found the case proved, and granted Edwards and his wife a conditional discharge on payment of 10gn. costs each.
Birmingham Daily Post, 9th August 1960.