This week in history - 20, 40 and 60 years ago.

Romford Recorder: The Recorder, April 20, 1973The Recorder, April 20, 1973 (Image: Archant)

Sixty years ago – 1953

Romford Recorder: Romford Recorder front page April 23, 1993Romford Recorder front page April 23, 1993 (Image: Archant)

A disabled boy was awarded £3,000 damages and costs after a being run over by a bus in Romford.

The seven-year-old was carrying brushwood through Romford for a Guy Fawkes fire when he accidently fell into the road and had his legs run over by a bus.

The High Court awarded him the damages after suffering serious injuries, the boy had to undergo six operations for skin grafting from his waist downwards.

His father attempted to sue the London Transport Executive and the bus driver alleging negligence. He was denied but was awarded £29 for out-of-pocket expenses.

------------------------------------

Romford residents had their minds put at rest after being told Romford Council would not be pulling down their homes – despite being part of an industrial development plan.

More than 70 people from Beechfield Gardens and Crow Lane expressed fears after Councillor P. D. Ridley, chairman of the town planning committee, said: “In the County Development Plan, these houses are shown as part of the site zoned for industrial development.”

------------------------------------

A Dagenham girl was fatally injured in a motorbike crash.

Sixteen-year-old Joyce Beatrice Bastin was taken for a ride on the back of the motorcycle, at her request, by a Purfleet man.

It was travelling at 90mph when it crashed into a van at the top of the road, launching the 16-year-old off into the air. Her body was found 33 feet from the vehicle.

The van driver said: “Instead of stopping to allow me the right of way the vehicle swung quickly across the front of me.”

He didn’t see the collision, but saw sparks where the motorcycle skidded along the road.

------------------------------------

Forty years ago – 1973

Six people emerged relatively unharmed from two plane crashes in Romford and Rainham.

The first accident occurred when a small plane owned by the Stapleford Flying Club came down on top of a smaller plane carrying four people – slicing through its windscreen with the propeller.

The second accident took place at a private airstrip in Rainham, when a two-seater plane overturned upon landing. One passenger was taken to hospital for stitches to cuts in his face and the pilot was “slightly shocked”.

------------------------------------

After 30 years of planning and proposals, a scheme to regenerate Hornchurch town centre was finally approved by a government inspector.

The scheme had been the subject of numerous public inquiries as plans to redevelop Hornchurch involved the controversial demolition of houses and shops in the area.

The Secretary of State was considering initiating a scheme to widen Hornchurch Road – but this was met with concerns.

Havering Council was to “see if the scheme would be financially viable,” Labour spokesman Cllr Ed Miller told the Recorder.

Havering Council also had to tell the Secretary of State what effects the scheme would have on Hornchurch, including what would happen if the road-widening scheme didn’t take place.

------------------------------------

New safety regulations regarding cooking utensils were brought into Havering.

The rules restricted the amount of lead used to manufacture coatings for the items if they would be in contact with food.

Shopkeepers couldn’t buy utensils over the specific directive of lead usage, which was 20 parts to 10,000 parts lead coverage.

------------------------------------

Twenty years ago – 1993

A burglar who called himself “The Sneaker” raided three elderly pensioners’ homes in Rainham.

Dressed in a balaclava, the man stole £60 from two of the flats and tied up his third victim, a 70-year-old woman. Police say he demanded the terrified woman hand over her money and credit card.

The woman told him she had neither, and he searched her flat for 20 minutes, leaving his victim tied up, before leaving empty handed.

“The Sneaker” had been at large for more than two years, and police were appealing for any information on the burglar.

------------------------------------

Another pensioner was robbed of £460 after two men tricked their way into her Harold Hill home.

Two men knocked on the back door of the house in Colne Drive, offering to mow the woman’s lawn. A third man then knocked at the front door offering to do the same job and as she went to answer it the two men entered her house and stole money from her purse and a cash box.

Sgt David Hammond of Romford Police said: “Apparently they had called at another house nearby a little earlier and had been told to clear off.”

------------------------------------

Romford snooker player Steve Davis drove a luxury Rover 600 series saloon car at its launch in a Chadwell Heath car showroom.

The six-time snooker champion unveiled the new model at the Rover dealer’s Premier Motors showroom to officiate the luxury family car.

General sales manager Charlie Scott said: “Steve really loved the new model. He drove it skilfully from the back of the showroom to the launch pad – and scored a big hit with everyone, especially the ladies.”