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

Romford Recorder: Romford and Hornchurch Recorder, August 31, 1973Romford and Hornchurch Recorder, August 31, 1973 (Image: Archant)

Sixty years ago – 1953

Romford Recorder: Romford Recorder, September 3, 1993Romford Recorder, September 3, 1993 (Image: Archant)

Two men drugged, stripped and abused a 21-year-old woman in a Harold Wood office, it was alleged.

The pair denied the allegations, which were heard in closed court from the telephonist identified only as “Miss X”.

One of the men owned the turf commission agent’s office in Station Parade. He had been out with Miss X before, but she had tried to break off the affair after discovering the 36-year-old, of Petersfield Avenue, Harold Hill, was married.

But the court heard he was persistent and eventually the woman agreed to visit him at the office.

There she was forced to take sleeping tablets before the men stripped and photographed her, it was alleged.

The case was sent for trial at Essex Assize.

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RAF Hornchurch’s canine mascot Binder, who survived the Battle of Britain, died after falling down a flight of steps.

Binder joined the station in 1940 as the pet of late Wing Commander Paddy Finucane. After Paddy died during the battle, Binder became the station mascot.

A memorial stone would be unveiled for Binder, to be permanently placed over his grave by the main gates of the station.

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A doctor was reprimanded in court after allegedly accusing a policeman of being “damned awkward”.

Simon Sutton, of Woodfield Drive, Gidea Park, was warned by PC Richardson that he would be reported for stopping his car near a pedestrian crossing.

After levelling the accusation at the policeman, Dr Sutton then proceeded to suggest he would contact the constable’s inspector regarding the incident.

Dr Sutton was summoned before Romford magistrates, who decided to fine him £1 for the offence.

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Forty years ago – 1973

Shopkeepers in Romford were targeted by organised gangs of shoplifting schoolchildren.

The manager of WHSmith, at The Liberty, Romford, said the children came into stores with lists of what to pinch.

They would then sell the stolen goods once back at school.

He said that when the summer holidays end, the big stores breathe a sigh of relief.

The deputy manager of Woolworth’s, High Street, Romford, said that up to ten children come into the shop at a time, split up, and then meet outside with their loot.

Police refused to comment on the gangs, but accepted that shoplifting was “on the increase overall”.

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Two young Harold Hill boys had a miracle escape when a gas canister exploded in a wood where they were playing.

David Basri, seven, and Raymond Hogan, eight, both of Leamington Road, were standing next to a fire, upon which the gas canister had been thrown.

The empty canister of butane gas exploded, injuring one boy and narrowly missing the other.

David was taken to Harold Wood Hospital after suffering burns to his legs, chest and right arm. Raymond was unharmed.

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A youth, who was barred from entering the White Hart Hotel, Collier Row, hit the owner with a broom handle, a court heard.

The 17-year-old pleaded not guilty to unlawfully assaulting the hotel owner and to having an offensive weapon, the broom handle.

Det Con William Milne said the youth was given a warning about taking drinks bought in the public bar into the “music” bar where prices were dearer.

The youth became abusive, hit the proprietor with the broomstick and ran off.

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Twenty years ago – 1993

A notorious walkway next to Romford station, known as a “muggers’ paradise”, was to be investigated after a series of violent attacks.

The Battis, a walkway linking South Street and Waterloo Road, was to be the subject of a safety probe by British Rail.

The street had hosted a number of violent crimes. A bank clerk was held at gunpoint during a busy rush hour, and teenager who was taken there was violently robbed of £80 suffered a broken nose.

Other incidents included a 16-year-old boy robbed of jewellery and a 22-year-old man’s front teeth knocked out, jaw fractured and face badly cut by three men.

Ch Supt Basil Racey said: “The alcoves offer too many advantages for people who live off crime.”

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Residents called for vigilantes to patrol the streets after vandals nearly blew up a South Ockendon church.

Intruders tried to blow up Christ Church, in Afton Drive, by turning on all the gas tapes in the hall attached to the church, then lighting a bonfire.

Police officers risked their lives to tackle the blaze before it could take hold and ignite the gas.

South Ockendon Tenants’ and Residents’ Association secretary Dilys Stone said she had had enough of the “mindless morons” vandalising her town.

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A horror accident on the A127 at Ardleigh Green involving a bicycle and a van left a cyclist with severe injuries all over his body.

An air ambulance was called to take Scottish cyclist Dennis Sieyes, 23, to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel.

He suffered two broken legs, a broken right arm and serious injuries to his neck and head, but none of his injuries was life-threatening.

The accident happened 100 yards from the Ardleigh Green traffic lights on the London bound carriageway.