Vince didn’t believe in ghosts…
Selling papers has become a spirited business for newsagent Vince Lewis. He didn’t believe in ghosts… until things began to go bump as he served morning rush hour customers at his shop on The Green, Southwick, Sunderland. That was just the beginning. The shop’s mysterious intruder has not given any more public performances – but “It’s” night-time activities mean a tidying-up job for Mr Lewis when he opens.
Mr Lewis, aged 35, said yesterday that the chain of unexplained events began at 7.30 on Monday morning while a workman and a young girl were being served in the shop. “Suddenly the till, which weighs about half a hundredweight, swung round, the cash drawer shot out and money scattered all over the place. A ruler on the counter snapped in two and a spoon in a cup bent and fell out. It was all over in about twenty seconds. It came as such a shock the workman went stiff with fright and the girl almost fainted.”
Mr Lewis said nothing happened the next day but when he arrived to open up on Wednesday he found display units overturned, a window unit moved round, birthday cards strewn about and books thrown from shelves. “It was just as if vandals had broken in. But I checked and found no signs of forced entry, the burglar alarms had not gone off and nothing was missing.”
The rest of the day went peacefully and all was in order when he locked up at teatime. But a few hours later he happened to be passing the shop and on calling to check he was staggered to find the same sort of mess he had cleaned up that morning. “I called in the police and the officer who came couldn’t find any evidence of crime. I tidied up again – but this morning cards and books had been pushed aside although this time display units were in their normal positions,” he said yesterday.
Mr Lewis said this was the first time any strange events in the five years he and his wife Cathy had been at the shop.
Newcastle Journal, 8th September 1978.