ON THIS DAY IN WEMBURY
26 June 1934
The Western Morning News reported that on this day the theft of a bicycle from the Wembury car park led to a court appearance at Yealmpton Petty Sessions. The bike, worth four pounds fifteen shillings and owned by William P. Crideton of Wilton Street, Devonport, disappeared while its owner was visiting the village.
Police later found the bicycle in Victoria Park, where a witness recognised it even though the paintwork had been altered. William Leslie Heale, aged nineteen and living in Ford, Plymouth, appeared alongside a sixteen year old accomplice. Heale was fined and bound over for twelve months, the Chairman noting that the Bench believed he had been led astray.
A small story but a vivid reminder that even in 1930s Wembury, where visitors often left their bikes and belongings at the beach or car park, petty crime could still intrude on an otherwise peaceful day out.
Source: Western Morning News, 27 June 1934, reporting events of 26 June.