Crown Court - Safe as Houses (1977) - video Dailymotion

Jezza

Olive Hope stands accused of harassing a tenant and next-door neighbour Audrey Taylor. Pre-"Duty Free", Neil Stacy and Keith Barron appear as Prosecuting and Defence Counsel respectively. Ursula Howells, John Bardon and David Lodge also star.

Transcript

00:00:00The

00:00:29characters portrayed are fictional, but the procedure is legally accurate. The characters

00:00:34are played by actors, but the jury is selected from members of the general public. Olive Hope

00:00:39stands accused of harassing her next-door neighbour and tenant, Audrey Taylor, over a

00:00:44number of months. Mrs Taylor is about to give her evidence. The evidence I should give should

00:00:49be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Is your full name Audrey Taylor? Yes. And

00:00:56you live at 34 Grange Lane, Fulchester? That's right, yes. Mrs Taylor, one couldn't help but

00:01:01notice when you took the oath that your hand was trembling rather badly. Would you mind

00:01:05telling the court the reason for this? Oh, yes, well, it's the pills the doctor gives me. It

00:01:11sometimes makes my hand shake. I've, uh, I've got bad nerves. Very. Do you sleep well at

00:01:18night? No, I've got pills for that too. Now, how long have you been obliged to take pills

00:01:23of this kind? A year and a half. I see. And has your weight remained unchanged over that

00:01:28period? No, no, I've lost nearly two stone. Now, before March 1976, what was the general

00:01:35state of your health? Well, it was, uh, it was pretty good, really. So, to summarise, in

00:01:41the last 18 months you've been changed from a healthy, cheerful woman, middle years, to

00:01:46an acutely nervous person who finds it difficult even to sleep. Is that a fair summary, Mrs Taylor?

00:01:51Yes. Uh, yes, yes. Now, Mrs Taylor, are you a native of Fulchester? No. No, I was born

00:01:58in London. I lived there most of my life. But three years ago, in August 1974, you uprooted

00:02:04yourself and you moved here. Is that correct? That's right, yes. Now, would you kindly tell

00:02:08the court how this move came about? Take your time, Mrs Taylor. Yes, well, I'll live. Mrs Hope.

00:02:16That's the accused behind me. Yes, well, we'd been friends for many years, but, well, because

00:02:22we lived so far apart, we didn't see very much of one another. We used to write, you know,

00:02:28correspond. And then about, uh, three years ago, after my divorce, Olive wrote to me and

00:02:36suggested that it would be nice if I came and lived next door to her, here in Fulchester.

00:02:42That way, she said we could be close to one another, but still keep our own privacy. Now,

00:02:48let's get this clear. The defendant owns the freehold of both 34 and 36 Grange Lane, is that

00:02:53so? That's right, yes. So she would continue living? In 36 and me in 34. Now, are these houses

00:02:59detached? No, no, they're part of a terrace. Mine, number 34, is at the end of the terrace.

00:03:07They're quite old, rather small, but, well, you know, it's a respectable sort of house. Yes,

00:03:14indeed. Now, did you know why the defendant had purchased number 34 as well as number 36? Yes,

00:03:20that was to be for her son Colin when he got married, but then he went away, so the house

00:03:24was empty. I see. And at this time, was there a garden wall between 34 and 36? No, not even

00:03:31a bit of fence. And there was a door in the hall so that you could get from one house to

00:03:37the other without getting your feet wet. Then, in August 1974, were you granted a lease whereby

00:03:43you became the tenant of 34 Grange Lane, described as an unfurnished dwelling? Yes. May she be shown

00:03:49exhibit one? Is that the lease signed by yourself and the defendant? Yes. Members of the jury,

00:03:57you should all have copies. What is the length of the term? The lease is for five years, Your

00:04:02Honour. Oh. Oh, yes, five. Mrs. Taylor, you said that the defendant mentioned that the arrangement

00:04:09would give you both privacy. Does privacy mean a lot to you? Oh, yes. Yes, it does. I need time

00:04:15to myself. Yes. And did the defendant respect your privacy after you moved in? No, she did

00:04:20not. Well, I... I expect she really meant to be kind, but... Well, she... She just wouldn't

00:04:26leave me alone. I mean, like... Like the house was supposed to be unfurnished, but there was

00:04:31all Colin's things there. I had to pile all mine in the lumber room. And then there was

00:04:36another time when I wanted to paint the kitchen. I wanted it white. But Olive insisted on duck

00:04:42egg. And if there's one colour I can't abide, it's duck egg blue. But she got her way? Oh, yes.

00:04:49Now, what about your garden? Oh, I mean, I couldn't touch that. That was more than my life

00:04:53was worth. It was all her plants, you see. But it wasn't just the house. I mean, she wanted to

00:04:59take over my whole existence. She was in and out, in and out all blessed day. Through the communicating

00:05:05door that she'd had made when her son was living in the house before you? Yes, or through the back

00:05:09or the front door. I mean, she got keys to all of them. It got so that my heart sank

00:05:14every time I heard her. Now, did you ever tell her that you wanted more time to yourself?

00:05:19Oh, yes, but she wouldn't listen. Now, how long did this interference continue? Well, for

00:05:25about a year. Then in the summer, 1975 that was, I found a firm of builders, Joseph Bell and

00:05:34sons. Well, you see, the roof had been leaking. So while they were there, I got them to change

00:05:40all the locks. I see. And did they do that? Yes. And then when they'd done that, I got

00:05:46them to take all Colin's stuff and put it through into the hall of 36. Well, you see,

00:05:51Olive was away for the weekend. And after that, I got them to put two strong bolts on the door

00:05:57on my side so that, well, so that Olive just couldn't just barge in. Yes. Now, was there

00:06:02a lock put on this door as well, one you could turn with a key? No, no, no, just the bolts.

00:06:06And then while they were doing that, Mr. Bell himself put up a little fence just between

00:06:10Olive's side of the garden and mine. It was only a token thing. And then I wrote a letter

00:06:16to Olive telling her what I'd done and why. It was, well, it was a friendly letter, but

00:06:23you know, it was firm. Yes, yes, of course. Now, what was her reaction? Oh, I didn't hear

00:06:29anything from her, not all the winter. Then in the March, she comes round with a month's

00:06:34notice to quit. Just like that. I mean, I told her she had no right. But, I mean, after

00:06:43a month, I mean, I didn't move and then the trouble began. She started telephoning me all

00:06:49the time. Ah, yes. Now, let's take a closer look at these telephone calls. They began,

00:06:54you say, in April? Early April, yes. Now, when you picked up the receiver, did the caller

00:06:59speak? Oh, yes. And did you recognise the voice? Oh, yes, it was her, all right. And

00:07:04what did she say on these occasions? Terrible things. I mean, she called me everything under

00:07:10the sun. Filthy things. Dirty bitch, prostitute. She promised to make my life a hell on earth.

00:07:21One time, she was going to poison my co-water tank. And another, she was going to hang some,

00:07:27well, some special kind of microphone down the chimney so that she could hear every word

00:07:31I said. Now, what effect did these calls have on you? Well, I mean, I felt very frightened.

00:07:35Yes. Now, did you take any steps to remedy the situation? Yes, I rang the post office and they

00:07:42said they'd intercept every call. And the telephoning stopped? Yes. But then in the summer,

00:07:47she found other ways of making a nuisance of herself, like, well, like tipping her dustbin

00:07:51over into my backyard and blocking the drains. And as for the washing, well, I mean, I daren't

00:07:57leave that out overnight. Why? Well, I mean, she'd steal it. One night, I lost, I lost a bra on

00:08:05four pillowcases. I take it you didn't actually see the defendant do any of these things. You

00:08:09merely surmised it was her. Well, who else? But in September of last year, did events take

00:08:15a rather different turn? In September, yes. Yes, well, you see, I'd been leaving the garden

00:08:21tools out all night. And then when the weather changed, I bought a little garden shed. You

00:08:28know, it was just one of those wooden ones in a kit. And Colin helped me put it up.

00:08:33The defendant's son? Yes. Well, the very night it was finished, I was asleep in bed, and I heard

00:08:40this terrible, terrible commotion outside. I went to the window, and there we are. The shed was burnt

00:08:48down. There was fire engines, foam everywhere. Was anyone charged with arson following this

00:08:54incident? No, Your Honor. Now, I want to move on to what occurred around Christmas of last year.

00:09:00Would you tell the court about that, please? Yes, well, in December, things got really

00:09:04bad. Every night, there'd be this terrible knocking on the bedroom wall. Now, did the

00:09:09defendant know where you slept? Oh, yes, of course she did. So she would have known that

00:09:13this noise was likely to prevent you from sleeping? Yes. But, I mean, it wasn't only the

00:09:17banging. She was... Well, she was shouting and screaming. And she got this gramophone going

00:09:22full blast with all these terrible records. It was brass bands and bagpipes and all those

00:09:29jazzy things. Well, I was at the end of my tether, so I decided to go and spend a few days

00:09:36with my sister in Kent. It was only for four days, but when I got back and I opened that

00:09:44front door. Yes, Mrs. Taylor? Well, it was... It was ransacked from top to bottom. And I'd

00:09:56got this photograph of my mother. It was in the bedroom, in a frame. It was the only picture

00:10:03of her I had. And she'd... She'd thrown it on the floor and... And stamped on it.

00:10:14Had anything been stolen? No, not a blessed thing. Thank you, Mrs. Taylor. Mrs. Taylor,

00:10:18you said earlier that the defendant wrote to you suggesting you should move from London

00:10:22to Fulchester. Now, am I quoting you correctly? That's right, yes. And is the letter still in

00:10:26your possession? No. Why? What happened to it? Well, I don't know. I suppose I must have thrown

00:10:33it away when I moved. Yes, I see. Now, the year 1974 was a very confusing and upsetting time for

00:10:41you, was it not? In January, you were divorced. Now, the house in London where you lived was owned

00:10:49jointly by your ex-husband and yourself. Is that so? Oh, that... Yes, we sold the house. So how much

00:10:54money did you receive as your share? Oh, not a lot. Well, it was £10,000, wasn't it? Your share,

00:11:02give or take, £100 or two. More or less, yes. What of it? Well, we shall see, Mrs. Taylor. Now,

00:11:09will you look at this letter? This... This is a letter addressed to the defendant from the Slater

00:11:14Clinic and dated July the 15th, 1974. It is in your handwriting, is it not? Looks like it, yes. Yes,

00:11:22and the signature at the end, Audrey. Is that your signature? Oh, hang on, I'd better get

00:11:26my specs.

00:11:32Yeah, Audrey, yes. What were you doing at the Slater Clinic on July the 15th? Were you working

00:11:37there? No. No, Mrs. Taylor. In fact, you were admitted to the Slater Clinic as an inpatient

00:11:43on April the 14th of that year, were you not? Yes. Now, the Slater Clinic, which is situated

00:11:50in Essex, is a psychiatric clinic, is it not? That's right, yes. And what were you suffering

00:11:57from? You must answer the question. Well, when I was much younger, I mean in my 20s, I, well,

00:12:13I sometimes used to hear things and see things that weren't really there, and sometimes I

00:12:22was afraid to go out. You were suffering from schizophrenia, weren't you? That's right,

00:12:27yes. But then they found these marvellous drugs, and over the years, I gradually got better

00:12:32till, in the end, I didn't even need the drugs anymore. Since 1963, I've been fine. But then

00:12:39with the divorce and all this upset, I, well, I had a slight turn for the worst. But it

00:12:45was only for three months, and it really wasn't bad. And ever since then, I've been as right

00:12:49as rain. There. I'm not trying to persecute Mrs. Taylor. I'm simply attempting to get

00:12:55at the facts. Will you read paragraph two of the letter, please?

00:12:59I am completely restored and able to cope, but I can't face living in London anymore,

00:13:11especially Finchley, with all its unhappy memories. And in any case, the house is now sold.

00:13:16By the way, Leonard has swindled me out of most of the money, and I've ended up with 1,500

00:13:22at most. Dearest Olive, you're my best and truest friend. Is there any chance at all I could move

00:13:28to Fulchester and be with you? Or, if you prefer, perhaps I could rent the house next

00:13:32door, which you've told me is still empty. So, it would be true to say, wouldn't it,

00:13:37Mrs. Taylor, that the move to Fulchester was your suggestion and yours alone?

00:13:41Yes, but she agreed. Oh, she agreed. But out of the kindness of her heart. How much rent

00:13:47do you pay for 34 grains, then? Fifty pounds a month. And do you consider that a fair rent

00:13:51for an unfurnished, regency, terraced house in a pleasant part of the town? Pretty fair,

00:13:56yes. Oh, fifty pounds a week, perhaps, but fifty a month. Well, I mean, how was I to

00:14:01know what it was worth? I'd only just arrived. Now, you were discharged from the Slater

00:14:06Clinic a week after writing this letter, weren't you? That's right, a week. Now, Mrs. Taylor,

00:14:11one final question about this letter. When you told the defendant that your ex-husband had

00:14:16swindled you out of 8,000 pounds, now, that wasn't the truth, was it?

00:14:19No. No. The fact is, isn't it, that you moved from London to Fulchester with a full

00:14:2510,000 pounds in the bank into a delightful little house for which you had to pay a mere

00:14:3013 pounds per week, having obtained the lease from a kindly and philanthropic woman through

00:14:36a bare-faced lie? Mrs. Taylor, in July 1975, you broke off relations with the defendant

00:14:51and denied her access both to the house and to the garden of 34 Grange Lane, did you not?

00:14:55Oh, unlimited access, yes. She'd been making my life a misery. But, I mean, there was nothing

00:15:01to stop her making an appointment or talking to me in the street or over the garden fence

00:15:07like any other neighbour. Yet, despite this, despite the fact that you'd returned what I

00:15:12suggest was a concern for your general welfare with this act of ingratitude, Mrs. Hope reacted

00:15:18only with silence. Yes. But then in the march, she came... But until then, she didn't offer

00:15:24you the slightest word of reproach, now, did she? No. Precisely.

00:15:28Now, after July 1975, did you make any new friends in Fulchester? No. No, I don't make

00:15:36friends easily. Unless you count Joseph. Is this the builder, Joseph Bell? Yes. Yes,

00:15:42he used to drop in occasionally. And this was after he'd finished his work for you, is that

00:15:46right? That's right, yes. And these visits, they were important to you, were they not?

00:15:52But they were all very innocent. Oh, I'm sure, Mrs. Taylor. But were you at least

00:15:57glad to see him? I didn't mind. But then he made friends with the defendant early the

00:16:04following year and stopped calling on you. That's right. Well, I expect you were rather

00:16:09annoyed, even bitter. I couldn't care less. I mean, what he did was his own affair. Well,

00:16:15I suggest it was rather more than a trace of bitterness on your part, Mrs. Taylor. Now,

00:16:19in February, you made a new friend, didn't you, Mrs. Taylor? None other than the defendant's

00:16:24son, Colin. Oh, Colin, yes. And in the months which followed, you lent him various sums of

00:16:28money to begin an antique business, did you not? Yes. Were you aware that he had already

00:16:33applied to his mother for the money and that she'd refused? Oh, yes. You see, I find myself

00:16:39rather puzzled by all this. Here you are, a woman not devoid of, shall we say, adroitness in

00:16:44money matters, lending a large amount to a young man who, to your knowledge, had a history

00:16:49of failed business ventures behind him. Why, Mrs. Taylor? Well, because I felt he was going

00:16:54to make a go of it this time. No, Mrs. Taylor, I suggest you couldn't care less whether he

00:16:58made a go of it or not, and that you lent him the money simply and solely to spite the defendant.

00:17:03No. Now, isn't it the simple truth of the matter that you've blown up all the trivial annoyances

00:17:09which occur between all neighbours into some plot to get rid of you? That any misfortune which

00:17:14came your way? Oh, a block drain, a burglary. You used first to convince yourself, and now

00:17:20convince a court of law, that the defendant was to blame? No, really not. Thank you, Mrs. Taylor.

00:17:29Your name is Hugh Wentworth? Wentworth, yes. And where do you live? 12 Thalcan Street,

00:17:34Forchester. And what is your job? I'm the Tenancy Relations Officer with the Forchester Council.

00:17:40Mr. Wentworth, will you tell the court what happened on September the 15th of last year?

00:17:44Well, Mrs. Taylor rang up that morning in a highly distraught state, so I cancelled another

00:17:49appointment and went round to see her straight away. She took me into the garden and showed

00:17:53me the garden shed, or rather the remains of it. Now, in what condition was the shed? It

00:17:59had been almost completely destroyed by fire. One wall remained standing, but it was badly

00:18:03charred. Did you come to any conclusions about where the fire had originated? Yes, very much

00:18:08so. Not that I'm an expert, but it looked very much as if it had started just inside the

00:18:13door. Now, you say inside rather than out? Yes. The inside of what had been the door

00:18:19was reduced to white ash, whereas the outside was just charred and split. I see. Was there,

00:18:24had there been any kind of lock on that door? Just a simple catch. Now, did you examine any

00:18:29of the charred wood more closely? Yes, I did. There wasn't much to see. I'm rather

00:18:33short-sighted anyway. But when I sniffed it, there was a faint but very distinctive smell

00:18:38of petrol. Consistent with the fact that the fire had spread with unusual rapidity? I would

00:18:42say so, yes. Now, what else did you find on this first visit? Mrs. Taylor then took me

00:18:47into the backyard where I examined one of the drains and found it to be blocked. It turned

00:18:51out to be a number of toilet rolls that had been jammed into the drain. Then, by the fence

00:18:56separating 34 from 36, there was a pile of rubbish that, well, appeared to have just been thrown

00:19:02over into Mrs. Taylor's backyard. Mrs. Hope's dustbin was just on the other side, as a matter

00:19:07of fact. I reached over and peered inside. It was empty. Now, did you visit the defendant

00:19:13on this occasion? I did not, yes, but there was no reply. Could you tell the court now what

00:19:19happened in December of last year? Yes. On December the 16th, Mrs. Taylor again called

00:19:24at the council offices in a state of great distress. She seemed quite beside herself. As a result

00:19:29of what she told me, I decided to call round and see her that evening. Which you did? Yes,

00:19:33I was there from 9 o'clock onwards. At 10 o'clock, this appalling banging noise started up from

00:19:37next door. It sounded loudest in Mrs. Taylor's bedroom. Was it possible to tell what instrument

00:19:42was being used to create this noise? Something heavy, obviously. Anyway, at midnight, I finally

00:19:48called at number 36. After a while, Mrs. Hope, the defendant, came to the door. She agreed

00:19:55to let me in. She was very pleasant at first. Yes, and what was her explanation for these

00:20:00noises that you had heard? She said she was in the process of having her bedroom soundproofed

00:20:04and that the banging was the builder knocking the plaster off the wall. I asked if I could

00:20:08take a look upstairs, but she refused to let me. She refused? Yes, I warned her that if she

00:20:13persisted in being so uncooperative, the council might be obliged to take action on Mrs. Taylor's

00:20:18behalf. And what did she reply to that? Get stuffed, you four-eyed creep.

00:20:22I see. Now, did you at any time during this visit see the builder? No. Or hear him? No.

00:20:29Was there any banging or shouting or anything of that kind? No, I was under the impression

00:20:34that Mrs. Hope was alone in the house. Thank you, Mr. Wentworth. Mr. Wentworth, one of

00:20:38your duties is a tenancy relations officer. Well, generally speaking, we investigate any

00:20:43dispute between the landlord and the tenant. If the landlord's at fault, we point this out

00:20:47to him and ask him to behave himself. This is usually enough. But if he persists, we pass

00:20:53the file on to our legal department who may initiate proceedings against him or her. If

00:20:58it's a woman, of course. Yes. Well, but the council will only commence proceedings if the

00:21:05evidence is overwhelming. In fact, you didn't believe this case would stand the snowball's

00:21:09chance in hell now, did you? I didn't believe the evidence was overwhelming. That's the council's

00:21:13policy. But on the other hand, I was happy, more than happy, to be subpoenaed by Mrs.

00:21:17Taylor in her own action. Because I have no doubt whatsoever that the defendant was making

00:21:21her life a misery. No personal doubt, Mr. Wentworth? Or no professional doubt?

00:21:25I've been doing my job long enough to know that a landlord, if he or she is clever about

00:21:30it, can make a tenant's life an absolute misery without hitting him in front of witnesses

00:21:34or cutting off the water and electricity. A thousand spiteful little acts are just as

00:21:39effective in the long run. Such as burning down a garden shed? Such as that, yes. Well,

00:21:44you've admitted you're no expert on arson, Mr. Wentworth. But did you in fact find out

00:21:48from any of the fire brigade officers how they suspected that the fire started? They didn't

00:21:52bother to look, apparently. They just put the fire out and left. So in this matter, at

00:21:56least, we're hearing the evidence not of an expert, but of a layman. I didn't pretend

00:22:00otherwise. No, quite. Now, were you aware that the shed was newly completed? Yes. And

00:22:08did you ask Mrs. Taylor whether or not the wood had been made weatherproof by treating

00:22:12it with creosote? I believe it had been treated with something of the sort, yes. So surely

00:22:16you're not maintaining, are you, that 12 hours or so after a very fierce fire, you could pick

00:22:21up a piece of charred wood and say conclusively that what you could smell was not creosote,

00:22:26but petrol? I'm pretty sure, yes. I suggest it will be impossible to smell.

00:22:30Mr. Wentworth. Now, before the fire started, there had been a window in the garden shed.

00:22:36A small one. And was there any supplementary means of lighting in the shed? An electric

00:22:42light bulb, perhaps? Yes, I believe there was a light bulb. So, Mr. Wentworth, it is very

00:22:47possible that the fire was caused by an electrical fault, quite simply. I mean, after all, neither

00:22:51Mrs. Taylor nor Mr. Hope were electricians by trade. Now, were they? Is your name Colin Bernard

00:22:58Hope and you live at 15 B. Leopold Square, Fulchester? Yeah. Mr. Hope, what relation are you

00:23:04to the dependent? My son? Mr. Hope, are you aware that if your mother is found guilty, it's

00:23:10possible that she should receive a heavy fine or even be sent to prison? Yes, I am. But

00:23:15it'd be no more than she deserves.

00:23:37Join us again tomorrow when the case of the Queen against Hope will be resumed in the Crown Court.

00:23:42MUSIC PLAYS

00:24:12The case you're about to see in the characters portrayed are fictional,

00:24:24but the procedure is legally accurate.

00:24:26The characters are played by actors,

00:24:28but the jury is selected from members of the general public.

00:24:31Olive Hope stands accused of harassing her tenant

00:24:34and next-door neighbour Audrey Taylor,

00:24:36who yesterday gave evidence for the prosecution.

00:24:39The case is now in its second day,

00:24:41and Olive Hope's son is about to give his evidence.

00:24:44Mr Hope, we've heard that Audrey Taylor had been friends with the defendant, your mother, for years.

00:24:51When was the first time you met Mrs Taylor?

00:24:53Must have been, well, I guess around the end of January, beginning of February last year.

00:24:58That's February 1976.

00:25:01What else?

00:25:03Would you tell the court something of the circumstances in which you first met Mrs Taylor?

00:25:07Sure.

00:25:07Well, see, when I moved out of 34, I left a lot of gear behind.

00:25:12Furniture, clobber, stuff like that.

00:25:14Well, I had this toolbox that I was needing just then,

00:25:17but Mum couldn't remember anything about it.

00:25:19So I sussed out, must be in the attic of 34.

00:25:23That's where I'd left it two years back.

00:25:25I called into 34 one afternoon, went into the attic, and there it was.

00:25:29Your box of tools.

00:25:30Right.

00:25:30Now, I knew there'd been some terrific hassle between Mum and Audrey, so we, that's Audrey

00:25:36and me, we start to have a rap about it.

00:25:39You talked about the estrangement which had taken place between Mrs Taylor and the defendant.

00:25:43Sure.

00:25:44Like I say.

00:25:46And partly as a result of this conversation, you struck up a friendship with Mrs Taylor?

00:25:51A kind of friendship, yeah.

00:25:52She'd been through some bad times.

00:25:54And what about your mother?

00:25:55Did you go on seeing her?

00:25:57Occasionally, yeah.

00:25:58And did she express any views of your friendship with her next-door neighbour?

00:26:02And how.

00:26:03She just flipped her lid about it.

00:26:05She was very angry.

00:26:06Very.

00:26:07Mr Hope, you've made it quite obvious that you are out of sympathy with your mother.

00:26:11How did this come about?

00:26:13Over what she did to my marriage.

00:26:14What did she do?

00:26:16Well, I got married in 1973.

00:26:19Still, that's my wife and me, we didn't have much bread.

00:26:23And I'd just started this small removals firm.

00:26:25There was a kid on the way and we had nowhere to live.

00:26:27I see.

00:26:29And how did the arrangement work out?

00:26:32Well, very badly.

00:26:33See, Mum was always hovering over us.

00:26:36Now, I've learnt to take no notice because I know she can't help it.

00:26:39But it started to get on Stel's nerves.

00:26:41Well, it all came to her head when the kid arrived.

00:26:45There was a little boy and we wanted to call him Dizzy Gillespie.

00:26:47Dizzy Gillespie?

00:26:48Yeah.

00:26:49Dizzy Gillespie Hope.

00:26:50After the jazz musician.

00:26:51Anyhow, Mum just went bananas.

00:26:55No grandchild of mine is going to be called that.

00:26:57What will all the other kids say when he came to go to school?

00:26:59All the rest of it.

00:27:00She had an alternative proposal, no doubt.

00:27:03Most grandmothers do.

00:27:04Yeah.

00:27:05Clive.

00:27:06After Grandad.

00:27:07His name was Clive.

00:27:09Well, Clive, Dizzy Gillespie, what's the difference?

00:27:12Names are just ridiculous anyway.

00:27:14So I said okay.

00:27:16But Stel wouldn't have it.

00:27:17Just put her foot down.

00:27:19So the next thing is that Mum threatens to evict us, which we find somewhat traumatic.

00:27:25So then Stel Upton leaves and takes the baby with her.

00:27:28And you've been living apart ever since?

00:27:29Yeah.

00:27:30Well, on and off.

00:27:32I see.

00:27:34What is your little boy called, incidentally?

00:27:36Simon.

00:27:37Ah, yes.

00:27:41So what you're saying is in effect that your mother, through her constant meddling in your

00:27:46affairs, was a major factor in the breakdown of your marriage?

00:27:49Yeah.

00:27:51Yes, Mr. Douglas.

00:27:53Now, later in 1976, you assisted Mrs. Taylor, did you not, to erect a wooden shed in her back

00:27:59garden?

00:27:59Yeah.

00:28:00In September.

00:28:01Now, it's been suggested that the fire which broke out the night after you completed the

00:28:06work had been caused by a short circuit as a result of faulty wiring.

00:28:12Not a chance.

00:28:13Look, all it involved was a lead from the house, a switch, and a light fitting.

00:28:17A child could have done it.

00:28:19After this incident, did you visit your mother?

00:28:21Yeah, a day after.

00:28:22And what did you say to her on this occasion?

00:28:24I asked her if she'd set fire to the shed, and she said yes, she had.

00:28:28You asked her if she had set fire to the shed, and she said she had.

00:28:33She actually admitted it to you?

00:28:35Yeah.

00:28:36Well, I went spare, because I'd been spending 12 hours a day putting it up.

00:28:40But all she said was, serves you right for meddling in other people's business.

00:28:44But why didn't you go straight to the police?

00:28:46Well, it was a family affair.

00:28:48Anyway, I don't like the police that much.

00:28:50I see.

00:28:51Now, later on last year, towards Christmas, did you visit Mrs. Taylor at home?

00:28:55Sure.

00:28:56Lots of times.

00:28:57See, I'd told Audrey to give me a buzz if ever Mum started getting really stroppy

00:29:02or tried to intimidate her, stuff like that.

00:29:05In December, it got so bad, she was ringing me nearly every other day.

00:29:09I used to go and sit with her.

00:29:11The poor lady was frightened out of her skull.

00:29:14And did you yourself hear or see anything which may have led you to believe that her fears were justified?

00:29:19I'll say.

00:29:20Shouting, screaming, banging on the walls.

00:29:23Then there was this record player blaring out till four, five in the morning.

00:29:28I'd sometimes have to stay that late just to keep Audrey calm.

00:29:32This shouting and screaming.

00:29:33Did you recognise the boys?

00:29:34Yeah, it was Mum's.

00:29:36Well, one night it got so bad, I hopped over the fence and got in through her kitchen window.

00:29:41I went into her bedroom and there she was in a nightie, bawling her head off and banging on the floor with a hammer.

00:29:49And what did you do?

00:29:50I slapped her face and threw the hammer out the window.

00:29:53Now, Mr. Hope, this is very important.

00:29:55Was there in your mother's bedroom any sign the building work was in progress?

00:29:59Not a chance.

00:30:00None?

00:30:01None whatsoever.

00:30:03Mr. Hope, what is your profession?

00:30:05I don't have a profession.

00:30:06Oh, then how do you earn your daily crust, Mr. Hope?

00:30:09I'm an antique trader.

00:30:11Oh, an antique trader.

00:30:12Oh, it sounds very grand.

00:30:14You specialised in anything, do you?

00:30:15All silver, mice and porcelain?

00:30:17No.

00:30:18I sell anything that comes my way.

00:30:20Anything I'd like to earn myself, that's the only criterion.

00:30:22Oh, so you'll have criteria then.

00:30:24Do you also have a shop?

00:30:26No, I don't.

00:30:26Then what do you have?

00:30:28It's a stall in the market.

00:30:29Oh, a market stall.

00:30:31Well, isn't that a bit infradig for an antique trader?

00:30:34It serves its turn.

00:30:36Really?

00:30:36So old Mrs. Bloggs or Joe Soap, who happens to be wandering through the market on a Saturday morning,

00:30:40looking for a cheap bit of fish or threatens of apples,

00:30:43suddenly find themselves parting with a couple of hundred pounds

00:30:46for an irresistible piece of Dresden porcelain from your market stall?

00:30:49Of course not.

00:30:51I'm sorry, I am being facetious, aren't I?

00:30:54Because what you sell on your market stall is just old junk, isn't it?

00:30:57No.

00:30:57Mr. Hope, in the 18th century, English porcelain was made of what material?

00:31:02What is this?

00:31:03University challenge?

00:31:05Mr. Hope, your present activity is just the latest in a long line of business ventures, isn't it?

00:31:12I've tried a few things in my time here.

00:31:14Mr. Hope, I put it to you that between 1968 and 1975, the defendant ploughed in the region of £4,000 into three businesses for you

00:31:23and another £2,000 when those ventures ended in disaster.

00:31:27Now, this is the case, is it not?

00:31:29Your mother, you'll realise, has kept proper accounts together with the relevant cheques of...

00:31:34She invested some money, yeah.

00:31:37And in January 1976, you reappeared in Fulchester and visited your mother to borrow yet more money, isn't that so?

00:31:44No.

00:31:45It was just a social call.

00:31:46Now, Mr. Hope, please remember you are on oath.

00:31:48You arrived on this visit or some subsequent visit to ask your mother for money, now, didn't you?

00:31:53No. If I did, I'd tell you, but really, I didn't.

00:31:56Yet, barely six weeks later, Mrs. Taylor gave you a cheque for £1,000, now, didn't she?

00:32:02Yeah.

00:32:03And another £500 a month later at the end of March?

00:32:06Yeah.

00:32:07And this was after you'd given up hope of being able to borrow these sums, as you'd borrowed them many times before, from your mother?

00:32:14No. Look, there's no great mystery about it.

00:32:17Sure, I saw Mum a few times in January, but we didn't talk about money.

00:32:20Then in February, I met this guy in a pub who said he'd sell me the antique store for £800 because he needed the cash.

00:32:27Very well. But why did you not first approach your mother?

00:32:31I might have done, but it just so happened I mentioned it to Audrey when I dropped by for the toolbox.

00:32:36And was it on this occasion that she lent you the money?

00:32:39No, about a fortnight later.

00:32:41Did you on any occasion reach an understanding with her about when and how the money was to be repaid?

00:32:48Not really, no.

00:32:48Mr. Hope, how long would a venture such as yours take to establish yourself?

00:32:53I mean, you've been running this stall of yours for a full year and a half.

00:32:56Now, you know there's no hope you'll be able to repay Mrs. Taylor. Isn't that the truth of the matter?

00:33:00No.

00:33:01I suggest to you that when you return from Brighton, you approach your mother for one reason only, namely money.

00:33:08And that when she refused, you exploited the rift which existed between her and Mrs. Taylor for your own advantage.

00:33:14That's not true.

00:33:15And I suggest further that knowing you can never repay your debt to Mrs. Taylor in cash, you've done the next best thing and elected to perjure yourself here in this courtroom by inventing slanders and a pack of lies.

00:33:27I just told you what I saw and heard.

00:33:30That's all.

00:33:30I swear by almighty God, the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

00:33:36Is your full name Olly of Alexander Hope and you live at 36 Grange Lane, Forchester?

00:33:40Yes.

00:33:41Mrs. Hope, you are a widow, are you not?

00:33:43Yes.

00:33:44My husband died seven years ago.

00:33:46And what did your husband do for a living?

00:33:47Oh, well, he was manager and part owner of the Beechdale Garden Centre.

00:33:50Would you tell the court something about how this enterprise came to be?

00:33:54Yes, well, at the end of the 1950s, I got together with my husband and a man called Scott and together we formed the Garden Centre.

00:34:01Oh, it was nothing like it is now.

00:34:02It was very small and barely paid its own way at first.

00:34:05And towards the end, Scott dropped out.

00:34:08And curious enough, it was just after that we really got going.

00:34:11And by 1970, you had a thriving business with a full-time staff of 12 and an annual turnover running into six figures.

00:34:17Is that right?

00:34:17Yes.

00:34:18Well, after John died, I found other interests and I sold the centre in 1972.

00:34:23So there you were, an energetic and enterprising woman with many active years ahead of you and, it's fair to say, a large amount of capital at your disposal.

00:34:32Yes.

00:34:32What did you do next?

00:34:33Well, I had other interests besides horticulture.

00:34:37But it was an amateur's interest, I'm afraid.

00:34:39It was in the field of mental illness.

00:34:41So in 1972, I started the Olive Hope Trust with some of the proceeds from the sale of Beechdale.

00:34:48Would you tell the court something about this Olive Hope Trust, please?

00:34:52Yes.

00:34:52Well, one of the difficulties of patients in long-term hospitals, in psychiatric wards, they tend to become institutionalised.

00:35:00And this can lead to the ludicrous situation where they're declared mentally cured, but the outside world has become such a terrifying place they simply can't face it.

00:35:08So I had the idea of a series of halfway houses where they could live, look for work and gradually get used to the outside world again.

00:35:16Well, I might hardly add, this costs money.

00:35:19A lot of it.

00:35:21So for the last five years, I've been fundraising and looking for suitable buildings at the same time.

00:35:25And have you been successful?

00:35:27Oh, I like to think so, yes.

00:35:28Well, I need hardly add, I encountered a lot of stupid, arrogant prejudice at first, simply because I didn't have the right letters after my name.

00:35:37I've got no time for small-minded bureaucrats, I'm afraid.

00:35:40And then we had a pilot scheme, a fairly large Victorian house with ten ex-patients.

00:35:47Do you know, it worked so well, the opposition just melted away.

00:35:51We got a grant from the local authority, and then another one from the DHSS.

00:35:56Next year, we're opening two more houses and a further three the year after, with a bit of luck.

00:36:01Now, Mrs. Hoppe, let's come to matters of more immediate concern.

00:36:04How long have you known Mrs. Taylor?

00:36:06Oh, about ten years on the whole, I suppose.

00:36:09We met on holiday in Cornwall.

00:36:11And from that time, a relationship sprang up between you, which expressed itself in a fairly lengthy correspondence.

00:36:17Well, we wrote to each other from time to time.

00:36:19Now, what did this correspondence mean to you?

00:36:23Mean?

00:36:24I'm sorry, I don't understand the question.

00:36:26Well, did you write to her as a close friend?

00:36:30Oh, no.

00:36:31No, from the beginning, she struck me as a rather lonely, insecure person who found life rather at trial.

00:36:38I knew about her stays in mental hospitals, of course.

00:36:41No, my letters were simply made up of gossip, larded with plenty of advice about how to keep her chin up, that sort of thing.

00:36:46Now, yesterday, we heard extracts from a letter which Mrs. Taylor wrote to you when she first proposed becoming your tenant and moving into 34 Grange Lane.

00:36:55Now, what was your reaction when you read this letter?

00:36:58Frankly, I was a little surprised.

00:37:00Quite alarmed.

00:37:02I mean, writing to an acquaintance is one, but having them as a next-door neighbour is quite another thing.

00:37:07But then I thought it over.

00:37:08I came to the conclusion I might be able to do her a bit of good.

00:37:12So you replied in that vein?

00:37:14More or less.

00:37:14Can you remember anything else you said in your reply?

00:37:18Oh, yes, that considering that she was in a bad financial state, oh, and I really believe she was in a bad financial state.

00:37:24Yes, fine.

00:37:25That I would let her have number 34 at a low rental, but in return she would have to put up with certain inconveniences.

00:37:31Inconveniences?

00:37:32What kind of inconveniences?

00:37:33Well, that I'd be happy for her to use the garden, sit in it, dry her clothes, that sort of thing.

00:37:38But that the trees and the plants were very well established.

00:37:41So I didn't want her pulling anything up or planting any of her own.

00:37:44I see.

00:37:45What else?

00:37:46Oh, and that I'd like her to store some of Colin's furniture for him.

00:37:49And lastly, that from time to time I suffered from insomnia, and I liked to play my record player in my room late at night.

00:37:56But if she found this troublesome, I'd see about getting some kind of soundproofing installed.

00:38:00Olive, you liar.

00:38:01You never said any of those things.

00:38:03Silence.

00:38:03Oh, but I did.

00:38:04You know perfectly well I did.

00:38:06I stand there as bold as Price telling all those terrible lies.

00:38:09Silence in court.

00:38:10Mrs. Taylor, if you interrupt proceedings again, I shall have you removed from the courtroom.

00:38:15You think you're going to talk your way out of this, don't you?

00:38:17But you can't stop the truth from being the truth.

00:38:19Take, Mrs. Taylor, outside if you will.

00:38:22Don't worry.

00:38:23I'm going here and here as he brings poison.

00:38:26Mrs. Hope, did Mrs. Taylor accept the conditions you imposed and moved to Fulchester a month later?

00:38:41Yes.

00:38:42Now, Mrs. Taylor claims that from the moment she arrived, you paid scant respect for her need for privacy and that, in her words, you were in and out all day.

00:38:51Now, what truth is there in this?

00:38:52Well, it's like everything else she says, exaggerated and distorted.

00:38:56Now, what was I supposed to do?

00:38:58When she asked if she could come and live with me or next door to me, I, well, I naturally concluded she wanted to be drawn out of herself.

00:39:04Well, I tried and I failed, but at least I tried.

00:39:08And we've also heard that when Mrs. Taylor changed the locks, bolted the communicating door and so on, you reacted with silence.

00:39:16Well, yes, I did.

00:39:18Well, I don't mind admitting I was furious at first, particularly about the garden.

00:39:22And she had no right fixing the roof.

00:39:25Anything external was my responsibility.

00:39:27I'd used the same builder for a long time and I knew nothing whatsoever about this man, Bell, at least not at that stage.

00:39:33Nevertheless, you went to employ Bell at a later stage yourself, didn't you?

00:39:38Yes, in January.

00:39:40I bought some bathroom fittings over Christmas and I asked him to install them.

00:39:43Why did you choose him and not the firm will usually work for you?

00:39:46Well, I might not have liked what he did to number 34, but I could see that he'd done it extremely well.

00:39:51I asked him to give me an estimate and it was very reasonable.

00:39:53When you took him on, were you aware that some kind of relationship had been struck up between Bell and Mrs. Taylor?

00:39:59How could I?

00:40:01Audrey and I hadn't been on speaking terms for months.

00:40:03But did you eventually become aware that a relationship had existed from what he told you?

00:40:07Yes.

00:40:09Did you try and lure Bell away from Mrs. Taylor?

00:40:11No, of course not.

00:40:13In fact, when I heard about it, I did all I could to encourage him to see more of Audrey, well, while he was working for me.

00:40:18But he seemed rather reluctant to do so.

00:40:21Now, in January 1976, your son Colin visited you on his return from Brighton, did he not?

00:40:26Yes.

00:40:27What was the motive for his visit?

00:40:29Oh, the usual one, money.

00:40:30And shortly after this, did you learn that Mrs. Taylor had in fact lent him £1,000 herself?

00:40:36Yes, I did.

00:40:37How did you feel about that?

00:40:38Well, frankly, Colin had been across I'd had to bear for rather too long.

00:40:43I thought if she wanted to carry it for a while, well, that was her affair.

00:40:45Now, Mrs. Hope, at the beginning of March 1976, you suddenly broke the silence that existed between yourself and Mrs. Taylor, and you paid her a visit.

00:40:54Yes, I did.

00:40:55Well, I don't...

00:40:56According to her testimony, it was on that occasion that you gave her one month's verbal notice to quit.

00:41:02No, I didn't.

00:41:03Now, that is typical of what I can only describe as or just paranoid distortions.

00:41:07Then what did happen?

00:41:08Oh, I went round one afternoon and I said that I and she might both be happier if she were to leave.

00:41:14But you must realise that by now I knew that her financial position was in a much healthier state than I'd first imagined.

00:41:20But did you give her one month's verbal notice to quit?

00:41:23No, I did not.

00:41:24Did you attempt to set any sort of time limit on her length of stay?

00:41:28No.

00:41:29Mrs. Taylor alleges you inflicted a spate of telephone calls on her in April last year.

00:41:35Did you ring her up at any time during April?

00:41:36No, I didn't.

00:41:38Now, during the summer, Mrs. Taylor claims you indulged in a number of petty acts of harassment.

00:41:44Did you ever empty your dustbin into her backyard?

00:41:47No.

00:41:47Or steal a washing?

00:41:49No.

00:41:49Or block her drains with toilet rolls?

00:41:51Of course not.

00:41:52All of these things she did herself just to implicate me.

00:41:55In September, Mrs. Taylor's garden shed caught fire one night and was partially destroyed.

00:42:02Do you remember the occasion?

00:42:03Yes, I do, very well.

00:42:04I was having a particularly bad bout of insomnia at the time.

00:42:07I think I was probably the first person to be aware that something was amiss.

00:42:11I looked out of my bedroom window, I caught sight of the flames and I dialed 999 immediately.

00:42:15You called the fire brigade?

00:42:16Oh yes, in that dry weather with all those sparks flying around.

00:42:19I was terrified it might spread.

00:42:21So you didn't yourself set fire to the shed?

00:42:24Well, I'd hardly do that, then call out the fire brigade five minutes later, now would I?

00:42:29That's the sort of thing that little boys do.

00:42:33Did you, the following day, tell your son Colin you were responsible for the shed burning down?

00:42:38I might have said, of course I did it, but Colin's so dense he doesn't realise when I'm being sarcastic.

00:42:44Oh really, the whole suggestion was too ludicrous.

00:42:47Now, in December last year, did you again call on the services of the builder, Joseph Bell?

00:42:52Yes, I did.

00:42:54I was having another spell of sleeplessness and I knew perhaps my record player was worrying Audrey because she kept banging on the bedroom wall.

00:43:01So I asked Joseph to put a layer of soundproofing between the plaster and the brickwork.

00:43:06And he agreed?

00:43:07Yes, he did.

00:43:07But he could only work in the evenings and late at nights because he was working somewhere else during the day.

00:43:12And of course I wanted the job done urgently for Audrey's sake.

00:43:15And this explains the noises that Mrs. Taylor heard?

00:43:18Yes.

00:43:19But she wouldn't give me a chance to explain what I was doing and why.

00:43:22As this is the case, why didn't you let the Tenancy Relations Officer, Mr. Wentworth, see the work in progress when he called?

00:43:28Oh yes.

00:43:29Well, in retrospect, that was a mistake on my part.

00:43:32But he was such a thoroughly objectionable man, I lost my temper.

00:43:36Well, smug, arrogant little officials get on my nerves, I'm sorry.

00:43:40But if he'd called at the proper time, I mean, he came so late at night, if he'd rung and made a proper appointment to inspect the house, I wouldn't have had the least objection.

00:43:49Was Mr. Bell upstairs when Mr. Wentworth called?

00:43:52Yes.

00:43:53Well, I asked him to wait quietly at the top of the stairs just in case whoever it was turned out to be a mugger or rapist or something.

00:43:59Oh yes, yes, yes, of course.

00:44:02Did you, Mrs. Hope, at any time over the Christmas holiday of 1976, break into 34 Grange Lane and vandalise the house?

00:44:09Of course not.

00:44:10Oh, suggestion's absurd.

00:44:12Were you at home over the Christmas period?

00:44:15Well, only on Christmas Day.

00:44:16The other days I was visiting friends.

00:44:18So it's quite possible you saw and heard nothing of the breaking simply because you were not at home at the time.

00:44:23Well, there's no other explanation.

00:44:24I'm bound to have heard a racket like that.

00:44:26Thank you, Mrs. Hope.

00:44:32Mrs. Hope, does the notion of success mean a lot to you?

00:44:37Well, I'd rather succeed than fail, yes.

00:44:40Yes, I dare say most of us would, Mrs. Hope, but it's granted to very few of us to start two quite separate enterprises within 20 years and make a success of both of them.

00:44:49True.

00:44:49What personal qualities would you say are vital to a successful businessman or businesswoman?

00:44:57Well, hard work, I suppose, and determination.

00:45:00Persistence.

00:45:02That too.

00:45:03Yes, well, indeed, looking at the basic facts of your professional life, I would say that the ability to persist against all odds is an overriding quality.

00:45:12You started the Garden Centre in 1957, did you not?

00:45:17Yes.

00:45:17And in what year did the Centre show a profit sufficiently large for you to contemplate expansion?

00:45:221965, I think.

00:45:241965, that's eight years.

00:45:25Then in 1972, you set up the Olive Hope Trust.

00:45:30But according to what you told my learned friend, a whole four years later, 1976, that scheme was hardly off the drawing board, was it?

00:45:37No, it wasn't.

00:45:38But I'm afraid that was partly my fault.

00:45:40To begin with, I made a rather lot of mistakes.

00:45:43And a lot of enemies, too.

00:45:44Yes, but again, you persist.

00:45:46Until now, success is just around the corner.

00:45:49Of these two enterprises, the Garden Centre and the Trust, which is the one you'd most like to be remembered by?

00:45:54Oh, the Trust.

00:45:55The Trust.

00:45:55So it'd be fair to say that the Olive Hope Trust was to be the climax of your career.

00:46:00Yes.

00:46:01Yes, now, Mrs. Hope, forgive me for raising this, but it's my duty to do so.

00:46:07Your personal life has been far less happy, hasn't it?

00:46:12I'm sorry.

00:46:12I don't understand the question.

00:46:14Well, for instance, this man, Scott, the third man at the Beechdale Garden Centre, you told my learned friend that towards the end, Scott dropped out.

00:46:21But you yourself were very attached to him, were you not?

00:46:25Yes.

00:46:26In a perfectly proper way.

00:46:27Well, anyway, he left the business in October 1960 and a fortnight later committed suicide.

00:46:32Is that not so?

00:46:33He died in a car crash.

00:46:34At the inquest, one witness testified he saw Scott wrench the steering wheel and accelerate into a brick wall.

00:46:41I never believe that story.

00:46:42And then your husband died in 1970, at the age of 46.

00:46:46What did he die of?

00:46:48He had an incurable disease.

00:46:50He was an incurable alcoholic, was he not?

00:46:52And he died of a massive haemorrhage caused by cirrhosis of the liver.

00:46:56Now, I suggest that this left you with two people to whom you could turn.

00:47:00One was your only child, Colin, and to put it neutrally, he turned away from you and rejected you, and the other was Audrey Taylor.

00:47:06No, no, she was never my friend, never.

00:47:07And then you found you were being rejected by her, too.

00:47:10So you set out on this vindictive course of action, which has resulted in this case being brought against you.

00:47:32Join us again tomorrow, when the case of the Queen against Hope will be concluded in the Crown Court.

00:48:10The case you're about to see in the characters portrayed are fictional,

00:48:23but the procedure is legally accurate.

00:48:25The characters are played by actors,

00:48:26but the jury is selected from members of the general public,

00:48:29who will retire at the end of the trial to reach their own unrehearsed verdict.

00:48:33Olive Hope stands accused of harassing her tenant and next-door neighbour Audrey Taylor.

00:48:38Yesterday, Mrs. Hope was cross-examined in the witness box.

00:48:42The court heard first of the successes of her professional life,

00:48:46then later of the tragedies of her personal life.

00:48:48Today, cross-examination continues.

00:48:52Are you ready to carry on, Mrs. Hope?

00:48:56Yes, thank you, Your Honour.

00:48:57We could adjourn for a short while, if you wish.

00:48:59Oh, no, no, no, I'm quite all right.

00:49:01Mr. Dugdale.

00:49:02You see, Mrs. Hope, if Mrs. Taylor had at one time been a friend of yours,

00:49:08rather than a mere acquaintance, as you had first claimed,

00:49:11then a number of things become clear, which are otherwise quite inexplicable.

00:49:15You see, you yourself have admitted that this correspondence with her went on for ten years,

00:49:20and during that time, you wrote to her very frequently, didn't you?

00:49:24Quite frequently.

00:49:25And you generally opened these letters with some endearment,

00:49:27such as my darling Audrey, or dearest Audrey, did you not?

00:49:31Well, I might have done.

00:49:32I simply wanted her to think that somebody was fond of her.

00:49:35And then, is this matter of the garden, number 34?

00:49:40You see, if Mrs. Taylor were just an acquaintance,

00:49:42and if you wanted to maintain the garden,

00:49:44it would be the simplest matter in the world,

00:49:46to have a clause to that effect inserted into the lease.

00:49:48But the lease gives her total rights over the garden, doesn't it?

00:49:52With a lady's agreement.

00:49:53Mm. Mrs. Hope, when Audrey Taylor denied you access to number 34

00:49:58by having the locks changed, you were bitterly hurt, were you not?

00:50:01This was another betrayal, in a sense the final betrayal,

00:50:05by someone you imagined you were close to.

00:50:08No, no, it was not.

00:50:09Well, I suggest it was.

00:50:11Now, you say you never rang, says Taylor, in April.

00:50:15That's right.

00:50:16Can the defendant be shown Exhibit 3, please?

00:50:18These are five quarterly telephone bills

00:50:23relating to the period October 1975 to December 1976.

00:50:27They're yours.

00:50:28How did you get hold of it?

00:50:29Just answer, Mrs. Hope,

00:50:30and all these bills relate to your telephone.

00:50:32Yes.

00:50:33Now, the bills show a pretty constant amount of calls, don't they?

00:50:37All in the region of 1,100 units.

00:50:40All except one, that is,

00:50:41and that is the bill for April to June of last year.

00:50:45Can you explain why your quarterly bill

00:50:47suddenly shows almost 2,000 units?

00:50:51I'm afraid I don't know.

00:50:51There must be some reason.

00:50:53Yes, there certainly must be.

00:50:54Oh, yes.

00:50:55Yes, now I know what it was.

00:50:57At that same month, in April,

00:50:58I made a couple of long telephone calls to New York,

00:51:01to a charitable institution

00:51:02that sometimes takes an interest in projects such as mine.

00:51:05It all came to nothing, I'm afraid.

00:51:07Yes, what is the name of this foundation?

00:51:09It was the Everett Chase Foundation.

00:51:11And are you in possession of any letters from them?

00:51:13No, the contact was entirely by telephone.

00:51:16Oh, I see.

00:51:16What was the name of the official with whom you dealt?

00:51:18Oh.

00:51:19Oh, yes.

00:51:19It was something long and Russian-sounding.

00:51:22It ended in Ansky or Onsky.

00:51:25Sorry.

00:51:26What is the address of the foundation?

00:51:28I can't remember.

00:51:30It's a telephone number.

00:51:33I'm not being very helpful, am I?

00:51:35Hmm.

00:51:35Now, Mrs. Hope, as regards the Olive Hope Trust,

00:51:40its darkest hour, as you've admitted,

00:51:42was around spring and summer of last year, wasn't it?

00:51:44Yes, it was going through a difficult time.

00:51:46Yes.

00:51:46Yet here, next door to your own home,

00:51:49is a property, if it didn't have a sitting tenant,

00:51:51worth £20,000.

00:51:53And yet you say you put absolutely no pressure on her to leave,

00:51:57you merely thought it was a good idea.

00:51:59You're seriously expecting the court to believe that?

00:52:01It's the absolute truth.

00:52:02You, a woman of formidable persistence and strength of character,

00:52:06giving way to one very ordinary middle-aged woman

00:52:08of no great capability.

00:52:09I knew I'd get the money by other means.

00:52:11Yes.

00:52:12Now, these records that you play

00:52:14into the early hours of the morning,

00:52:16the bagpipes and the military bands,

00:52:18is there a cure for your insomnia?

00:52:20Well, they do have pleasant associations for me.

00:52:22You see, my father was a colonel in the Scottish regiment.

00:52:25And anyway, I never played them loudly.

00:52:27I have perfect hearing.

00:52:29Oh.

00:52:30Well, if you never played them loudly,

00:52:32why did you engage the builder, Joseph Bell,

00:52:34to install a layer of soundproofing in your bedroom wall?

00:52:36Because even the slightest sound seemed to upset Audrey.

00:52:39I was doing my best to help.

00:52:40I see.

00:52:41Is the work now completed?

00:52:42No.

00:52:43And when I heard that Audrey was going to bring out

00:52:45a criminal charge against me,

00:52:46I thought, why should I make life pleasant for her?

00:52:48Well, she's doing her very best to make life unpleasant for me.

00:52:51So in February, I asked Joseph to re-plaster the wall

00:52:54and leave the room in the same condition that it was in originally.

00:52:56Yes, I see.

00:52:57She is now done?

00:52:59Yes.

00:52:59And this, you say, explains the banging noises which were heard?

00:53:02Yes.

00:53:04How much has he charged you for this work?

00:53:06Well, nothing as yet.

00:53:07We decided that the room has to be soundproofed eventually.

00:53:10He'll put the two bills together and I'll pay it in one go.

00:53:13Joseph and I have complete confidence in each other.

00:53:15Ah, you have complete confidence in each other.

00:53:17So I dare say that when you purchase more houses for your trust

00:53:21and you want them converted,

00:53:22it'll be the firm of J. Bell & Sons that you'll choose for the conversion.

00:53:26I may do.

00:53:26I haven't made up my mind.

00:53:27But theirs is the tender which will receive your support.

00:53:30Well, how should I know?

00:53:30They may not want to submit one.

00:53:32Hmm.

00:53:33Now, you maintained in your testimony to my lonely friend

00:53:36that Bell could only spare the time for this soundproofing in the evening.

00:53:40It appears that he worked not only then, but far into the night as well.

00:53:43Yes.

00:53:45Well, he and I, for our different reasons,

00:53:46wanted the job completed in as short a time as possible.

00:53:49Really?

00:53:50Well, after three months, all he's succeeded in doing

00:53:53is to replaster two-bedroom walls.

00:53:55Is that why three witnesses have testified

00:53:58that they heard you shouting

00:53:59while this supposed work was in progress?

00:54:01Wasn't he going fast enough?

00:54:02I never shouted.

00:54:03I never raised my voice.

00:54:05Come come, Mrs. Hope.

00:54:06What kind of cock-and-bull story is this?

00:54:09Isn't the truth of the matter

00:54:10that in December the only person in that house was yourself

00:54:13and that with a hammer or some such instrument

00:54:15you made as much noise as you possibly could

00:54:18to frighten a nervous and lonely woman?

00:54:20No, it is not.

00:54:21Then why can you not present a single shred of evidence

00:54:24in the form of a receipt or bill

00:54:26to show that you engaged Bell to do this work

00:54:29and that he, in fact, did the work?

00:54:30I told you.

00:54:31It was all very informal.

00:54:34Mr. Bell,

00:54:35when did you get to know Audrey Taylor?

00:54:37Mrs. Taylor.

00:54:39That would be in July, two years ago.

00:54:40And you worked on a house

00:54:41in conjunction with your two sons.

00:54:43Is that right?

00:54:43Yes.

00:54:44What did this work consist of?

00:54:46Let me see here.

00:54:48The roof.

00:54:49My two boys did that.

00:54:51Not soft, you see.

00:54:52In the meantime,

00:54:53I put mortise locks back and front

00:54:54and then she wanted a stretch of wadling

00:54:57about two feet high

00:54:58to divide off the two gardens.

00:55:00What about the communicating door,

00:55:02the one in the hallway?

00:55:03Oh, yes.

00:55:04I put two steel bolts top and bottom

00:55:06and then we had to turn into removal men

00:55:09to carry various bits and pieces

00:55:10into number 36.

00:55:11Were you aware that this furniture

00:55:13belonged to Mrs. Hope's son, Colin?

00:55:15No, sir.

00:55:16No.

00:55:16Now, after that,

00:55:17you became quite, well,

00:55:19friendly with Mrs. Taylor, didn't you?

00:55:21For a time, yes.

00:55:22And was your friendship an informal one?

00:55:26Well, I've never heard of a formal friendship

00:55:27unless I've been missing out.

00:55:30Well, what I mean to say is

00:55:31you didn't visit her on a regular basis?

00:55:33No, on a motorbike.

00:55:34Mr. Bell,

00:55:35this is a court of law,

00:55:36not a music hall.

00:55:37Unless you take your duties

00:55:38as a witness seriously

00:55:40and answer simply and truthfully

00:55:41the questions put you by counsel,

00:55:43I shall fine you for contempt.

00:55:44Sorry.

00:55:45Fair enough, Your Worship.

00:55:47Did you, Mr. Bell,

00:55:48pay regular visits to Mrs. Taylor?

00:55:50Oh, I just used to visit her

00:55:51when I was in the area, that's all.

00:55:53And Mrs. Taylor was a friend

00:55:55and nothing more?

00:55:56Oh, far as I was concerned,

00:55:57that's all, yes.

00:55:58But in December,

00:55:59these informal visits of yours,

00:56:01they came to an end, didn't they?

00:56:02December, yes, yes.

00:56:04Now, why was I?

00:56:06Well, I don't know how to tell you really,

00:56:08but one evening we were having a chat

00:56:10over a cup of tea

00:56:11and suddenly she brought up

00:56:12the subject of marriage.

00:56:14And then she put her hand on my knee

00:56:17and she had a new dress on,

00:56:19sort of a fancy outfit,

00:56:20and she said to me,

00:56:21did I think it was becoming?

00:56:23And I said, becoming what?

00:56:24I'll tell you this much,

00:56:25it was becoming too much for me.

00:56:27So I left.

00:56:28I said there was no hard feelings,

00:56:30but I was past that sort of thing.

00:56:32And your visit ceased from that point?

00:56:34Oh, yes, yes.

00:56:35Now, in January,

00:56:36you installed some bathroom fittings

00:56:37for the defendant, Mrs. Hope.

00:56:39Yeah, that's right, yes.

00:56:40Then, the following December,

00:56:42Mr. Bell,

00:56:43you agreed to undertake

00:56:44further building work for Mrs. Hope

00:56:45at 36 Grange Lane,

00:56:46isn't that so?

00:56:47Yes.

00:56:48What was the nature of the work?

00:56:50Oh, she wanted her bedroom soundproofed.

00:56:52Did she say why?

00:56:53Yes, well, it seemed that at this time,

00:56:55Audrey and Olive, Mrs. Hope,

00:56:58weren't exactly on the best of terms.

00:57:00Let's put it mildly.

00:57:01It appears the bone of contention

00:57:03was Mrs. Hope's gramophone.

00:57:05How did you intend to soundproof the room?

00:57:07Oh, well, to strip the walls

00:57:09and put a lining of cork

00:57:10between the plaster and the brickwork.

00:57:12Did you give Mrs. Hope

00:57:13an estimate for this work?

00:57:14Yes, I gave her a verbal estimate.

00:57:16I said it cost about 300 pounds.

00:57:18When you started the job,

00:57:20you worked in the evenings, didn't you?

00:57:21Yes.

00:57:22And sometimes until the early hours

00:57:23of the morning.

00:57:25Oh, yes, because that's the only time

00:57:26I had to spare, you see.

00:57:28I mean, I tried to be quiet,

00:57:29but knocking out great lumps of plaster

00:57:31with hammer and chisel

00:57:32was difficult not to be noisy.

00:57:33Did you, in fact, succeed

00:57:34in soundproofing the room?

00:57:36No, because after a while,

00:57:38Mrs. Hope asked me to stop,

00:57:39so I replastered the wall

00:57:40without putting in the cork.

00:57:42Have you been paid for this work?

00:57:44No, but when you know

00:57:46a person can pay,

00:57:48you have to do work on account.

00:57:49It creates a nice feeling,

00:57:50good feeling.

00:57:51I'm sure I should do other work

00:57:52for Mrs. Hope.

00:57:54In the time you've worked for Mrs. Hope,

00:57:56have you ever known her

00:57:57express her feelings to you

00:57:59about her next-door neighbour?

00:58:01Yes, like I got the impression

00:58:03that her and Mrs. Taylor

00:58:05were very close at one time,

00:58:07and she was worried sick

00:58:09about Audrey not being happy

00:58:10living next door.

00:58:11as regards all those other things

00:58:14she's supposed to have done.

00:58:15Mrs. Hope, I mean.

00:58:16That's ridiculous.

00:58:18I mean, she might have

00:58:19a rough edge to her tongue.

00:58:21She's the softest-hearted person

00:58:23I've ever met.

00:58:24How long have you run

00:58:34your own building firm, Mr. Bell?

00:58:35Oh, 20 years, nearly 21.

00:58:38We get the key of the door

00:58:39next March.

00:58:39Now, between January

00:58:41and December of last year,

00:58:43some kind of friendly relationship

00:58:45sprang up between you

00:58:46and the defendant,

00:58:47and the defendant, did it not?

00:58:49Oh, I used to drop in

00:58:50and see you occasionally, yes.

00:58:51Yes.

00:58:52Now, you say that you were

00:58:53drawn together by a mutual concern

00:58:54for Mrs. Taylor's welfare.

00:58:57Yet, at the same time,

00:58:58you were aware of a rift

00:58:59between the two women.

00:59:00Oh, yes, yes.

00:59:01Yes.

00:59:01Well, surely,

00:59:02seeing nothing of Mrs. Taylor

00:59:04and seeing so much of Mrs. Hope,

00:59:06you must, after a while,

00:59:08have been inclined

00:59:08to take Mrs. Hope's side?

00:59:10No, sir, no.

00:59:11Yet, your friendship with the defendant

00:59:12involved a considerable amount

00:59:13of trust, didn't it?

00:59:16Well, I trust everybody

00:59:17unless they give me reason not to.

00:59:18Well, for instance,

00:59:19Mrs. Hope still owes you

00:59:20quite a lot of money,

00:59:21according to your testimony.

00:59:22Well, for the plaster and so on,

00:59:23yes, 300 pounds.

00:59:25Does this bill appear

00:59:26some way in your firm's accounts?

00:59:28It may do,

00:59:28but I probably forgot to mention it.

00:59:30But it's all up here, though.

00:59:32It's puzzling, Mr. Bell,

00:59:34that if both you and Mrs. Hope

00:59:36were anxious that this work

00:59:37be completed rapidly,

00:59:39that you didn't ask

00:59:40one of your sons to help you.

00:59:42Oh, yes, well, I try,

00:59:43but they prefer putting their feet

00:59:45up every night watching the telly.

00:59:47Ah.

00:59:47Were you aware at the time

00:59:50that whatever the outcome

00:59:51of the case,

00:59:52Mrs. Hope and Mrs. Taylor

00:59:53will still be living

00:59:54next door to each other?

00:59:56Yes.

00:59:57Oh, yes, yes.

00:59:58Well, eventually,

00:59:58the two walls which you say

01:00:00you replastered

01:00:01will have to be soundproofed

01:00:02anyway, won't they?

01:00:03Maybe.

01:00:04So when you first removed

01:00:05the plaster from the wall,

01:00:06why didn't you tell Mrs. Hope

01:00:08that it'd be much cheaper

01:00:09for her in the long run

01:00:09to have the cork

01:00:10put up then and there?

01:00:12Well, it didn't cross my mind,

01:00:14but now that you've pointed it out,

01:00:15yes, it is funny.

01:00:16Yes, yes.

01:00:17Yes.

01:00:18Really, Mr. Bell,

01:00:20isn't the fact of the matter

01:00:21that it was Mrs. Hope herself

01:00:23who made all the noise

01:00:24and that if you have indeed

01:00:26put any new plaster on the wall,

01:00:28it was simply to save Mrs. Hope

01:00:30being found guilty

01:00:30of this charge of harassment?

01:00:32I was there.

01:00:33I did the work.

01:00:34When the Tenancy Relations Officer,

01:00:36Mr. Wentworth,

01:00:37called at Mrs. Hope's house

01:00:38towards midnight

01:00:39on December the 18th.

01:00:40Were you upstairs at the time?

01:00:42Well, someone called, yes.

01:00:43Mrs. Hope told me

01:00:44who it was afterwards.

01:00:45And you were standing guard

01:00:46at the top of the stairs?

01:00:48Yes.

01:00:49Can you give me a description

01:00:49of Mr. Wentworth?

01:00:51Oh, no, I can't really.

01:00:53Well, what's his voice like?

01:00:54Is it high or is it low?

01:00:55I can't remember.

01:00:57Now, Mr. Bell, finally,

01:01:00were you during the period

01:01:01of your friendship

01:01:01with Mrs. Taylor

01:01:02in possession of a key

01:01:03to the front door?

01:01:04For a time, yes.

01:01:05And did you at any stage

01:01:07give that key to Mrs. Hope?

01:01:08No, sir.

01:01:09Or have a copy made of it

01:01:11on her instructions?

01:01:12No, sir.

01:01:15Detective Sergeant Fenton,

01:01:16Fullchester CID.

01:01:18Detective Sergeant,

01:01:19what happened on the morning

01:01:20of December the 28th

01:01:21of last year?

01:01:23As a result of information

01:01:24received at Fullchester

01:01:25Central Police Station,

01:01:27I and Detective Constable Price

01:01:28visited 34 Grange Lane

01:01:30that morning.

01:01:31And at about what time was it?

01:01:33At around 11.45.

01:01:35Mr. Dorney,

01:01:36does the Detective Sergeant

01:01:37have a notebook

01:01:38to which he can refer?

01:01:39It's here, Your Honour.

01:01:42After all,

01:01:42these events took place

01:01:43nearly a year ago.

01:01:45Yes, carry on.

01:01:47Who answered the door

01:01:48when you called?

01:01:50Mrs. Audrey Taylor.

01:01:51She seemed in a very

01:01:52distressed state.

01:01:53Tell the court,

01:01:54if you would,

01:01:54what you saw

01:01:55when you examined the house.

01:01:56Well, the place

01:01:58was in a shambles.

01:01:59Furniture overturned,

01:02:00ornaments smashed,

01:02:01there was glass everywhere.

01:02:02Which room was that?

01:02:03They all seemed to be

01:02:04as bad as each other, really.

01:02:05It's impossible to say

01:02:06which was the worst.

01:02:07Possibly the kitchen.

01:02:09There didn't seem to be

01:02:09an item of crockery

01:02:10that hadn't been

01:02:11smashed to smithereens.

01:02:13Upstairs was almost as bad.

01:02:15Whoever it was

01:02:16had turned on the bathtubs,

01:02:18put the plug in

01:02:18and let them run.

01:02:20The upstairs part of the house

01:02:21was inches deep in water.

01:02:23The carpets were ruined,

01:02:24naturally.

01:02:25And the matches

01:02:26from Mrs. Taylor's bed

01:02:28had been pulled

01:02:28onto the floor.

01:02:30Presumably so

01:02:30it'd get a good soaking as well.

01:02:32Did you come to any conclusion

01:02:33about how entry

01:02:34had been gained

01:02:35in the first place?

01:02:37Yes, there was a window

01:02:38broken in the bathroom

01:02:39and one could only presume

01:02:40that entry had been gained

01:02:41by this means.

01:02:42Had anything been stolen?

01:02:43No, nothing.

01:02:45Were any valuables or cash

01:02:46on the premises

01:02:47at the time of the break-in?

01:02:48Well, yes,

01:02:49there was a shoebox

01:02:50at the bottom of a wardrobe

01:02:51covered in a pile

01:02:52of old clothes.

01:02:53It contained

01:02:54about £500

01:02:54in £5 and £10 notes

01:02:57which the intruders

01:02:57had overlooked.

01:02:59Also, there was

01:02:59a string of pearls

01:03:00which seemed to be

01:03:01of some value.

01:03:02Did you find

01:03:03any fingerprints?

01:03:03No, none.

01:03:05But by this time

01:03:06I had a pretty clear suspicion

01:03:07of who was responsible.

01:03:09You see,

01:03:10there'd been a number

01:03:10of burglaries

01:03:11in the Fulchester area

01:03:12in the months prior

01:03:13to Christmas

01:03:13which all conformed

01:03:15to the same pattern.

01:03:16Namely,

01:03:17houses broken into

01:03:18while the owners

01:03:18were away.

01:03:19Nothing much stolen,

01:03:21electrical goods

01:03:21and the like.

01:03:22Mainly high-fire equipment.

01:03:24But a great deal

01:03:25of vicious

01:03:25and pointless vandalism.

01:03:27I see.

01:03:28Did any incident

01:03:29take place

01:03:30while you were

01:03:30examining number 34?

01:03:32Well, yes,

01:03:33we came in a panda car

01:03:35and Mrs Taylor's neighbour

01:03:36must have seen us coming

01:03:37and dropped round.

01:03:38Mainly out of curiosity.

01:03:40And who was this neighbour?

01:03:42She introduced herself

01:03:43as Mrs Hope.

01:03:44Can you see Mrs Hope

01:03:45in the courtroom today?

01:03:47Yes,

01:03:47that's Mrs Hope

01:03:48over there.

01:03:48Yes,

01:03:49carry on Detective Sergeant.

01:03:50Well,

01:03:51she explained

01:03:52that she was

01:03:52the owner of the house

01:03:53and that Mrs Taylor

01:03:54was her tenant.

01:03:56What was her reaction

01:03:57when she saw

01:03:58this appalling scene

01:03:59of destruction?

01:04:00Oh,

01:04:00very upset,

01:04:01naturally.

01:04:02And had Mrs Hope

01:04:04seen or heard

01:04:05anything which was

01:04:06of any help to you?

01:04:07No,

01:04:07she'd only got back

01:04:08herself that morning.

01:04:09She'd been to stay

01:04:10for a few days

01:04:10with a friend in Crewe.

01:04:11Yes,

01:04:12go on.

01:04:12Well,

01:04:13Mrs Hope was about

01:04:14to go back

01:04:14to her own house

01:04:15when Mrs Taylor

01:04:16suddenly rushed forward

01:04:17she seemed beside

01:04:18herself with rage

01:04:19and,

01:04:20well,

01:04:20before I could stop her

01:04:21she slapped Mrs Hope

01:04:22across the face

01:04:23and she said,

01:04:23erm,

01:04:24you rotten cow,

01:04:26you've gone too far

01:04:27this time.

01:04:28Well,

01:04:28I asked Mrs Taylor

01:04:29if she thought

01:04:30Mrs Hope was responsible

01:04:31for the damage

01:04:32and she said,

01:04:33of course she's responsible,

01:04:34who else would do

01:04:35a thing like this?

01:04:36And did you put

01:04:37this accusation

01:04:38to Mrs Hope?

01:04:39Well,

01:04:39yes I did,

01:04:39she denied it,

01:04:40absolutely.

01:04:41And no charge

01:04:42was ever brought

01:04:43against Mrs Hope?

01:04:44Oh,

01:04:44no,

01:04:44there was no evidence

01:04:45to suggest that Mrs Hope

01:04:46had anything whatsoever

01:04:47to do with this.

01:04:48Thank you,

01:04:48Detective Sergeant.

01:04:50Erm,

01:04:51Detective Sergeant Fenton.

01:04:54You say there were

01:04:55a series of burglaries

01:04:56in the area

01:04:56prior to the break-in

01:04:58at 34 Grange Lane

01:04:59which bore a number

01:05:00of similarities

01:05:00to this one?

01:05:01Yes,

01:05:02that's right.

01:05:02Has anyone been arrested

01:05:04and charged

01:05:04in respect to these burglaries?

01:05:06Yes,

01:05:06three of them actually,

01:05:07two youths

01:05:08aged about 15 and 16

01:05:10and an older man

01:05:11of 22.

01:05:11And when they were arrested

01:05:13did they admit

01:05:13to any of the charges?

01:05:15Yes,

01:05:15all of them.

01:05:16Including 34 Grange Lane?

01:05:18Er,

01:05:18no,

01:05:19they denied

01:05:19all knowledge of that

01:05:20and as that was one case

01:05:21where the police

01:05:22had insufficient evidence

01:05:23the charge was dropped.

01:05:24Now,

01:05:25what did the evidence

01:05:25in the other cases

01:05:26consist of?

01:05:28Sometimes fingerprints

01:05:29but also

01:05:30we recovered

01:05:30most of the stolen goods

01:05:31in a lock-up garage

01:05:33rented by the 22-year-old.

01:05:35Yes,

01:05:35which you could trace

01:05:36to all the houses

01:05:36that had been burgled,

01:05:37is that not so?

01:05:39Yes.

01:05:39None of them belong

01:05:40to Mrs Taylor,

01:05:41did they?

01:05:41No.

01:05:42No.

01:05:42Now,

01:05:43when you examined

01:05:4334 Grange Lane

01:05:45on December the 28th,

01:05:46were there any items

01:05:47apart from money

01:05:48which you might have expected

01:05:49these thieves

01:05:51to this gang

01:05:51to have taken?

01:05:53I'm afraid

01:05:53I can't remember.

01:05:54Well,

01:05:55Detective Sergeant,

01:05:56happily I'm in a position

01:05:57to tell you

01:05:58that Mrs Taylor

01:05:59had purchased

01:05:59not a week previously

01:06:01a very expensive

01:06:01vacuum cleaner.

01:06:02Now,

01:06:03this wasn't taken

01:06:03and nor was her

01:06:05battery-operated lawnmower

01:06:06and yet examples

01:06:08of all these items

01:06:09were found

01:06:09amongst the stolen goods

01:06:10in this lock-up garage,

01:06:12were they not?

01:06:12They might have been,

01:06:13yes.

01:06:14Not might have been

01:06:14Detective Sergeant,

01:06:15they most emphatically

01:06:16were found.

01:06:18Now,

01:06:19when this series

01:06:20of burglaries

01:06:20was taking place,

01:06:21a great amount

01:06:22of publicity

01:06:22was given to the cases

01:06:23in the local press,

01:06:24wasn't it?

01:06:25Yes.

01:06:25Including details

01:06:26of the senseless vandalism

01:06:27that accompanied them?

01:06:28I believe so,

01:06:29yes.

01:06:30Yes,

01:06:30but would you agree

01:06:30that it wouldn't really

01:06:31have been very difficult

01:06:32for a party

01:06:32other than the three

01:06:33eventually arrested

01:06:34to assimilate

01:06:35one of their burglaries?

01:06:36It's possible.

01:06:37And this might perhaps

01:06:39explain why in the case

01:06:40of 34 Grange Lane

01:06:42nothing was stolen

01:06:43from the premises.

01:06:45It's much more likely

01:06:46in my opinion

01:06:46that they were interrupted

01:06:48while they were smashing

01:06:48the place up

01:06:49and they probably

01:06:50took flight

01:06:51and fled empty-handed.

01:06:52Yes,

01:06:52this is merely

01:06:53your theory,

01:06:53isn't it?

01:06:54Well,

01:06:54it's a fair enough deduction.

01:06:55Yeah.

01:06:55Now,

01:06:56I dare say

01:06:57you noticed

01:06:58a communicating door

01:06:59between the hallways

01:07:00of number 34

01:07:00and 36 Grange Lane.

01:07:02Yes,

01:07:02I did.

01:07:03Did you ask yourself

01:07:04why the thieves,

01:07:05if they were thieves,

01:07:06didn't simply slip the bolt

01:07:08and pass through

01:07:08into number 36?

01:07:10Because after all,

01:07:11according to what she told you,

01:07:12the defendant

01:07:13was aware at the time.

01:07:14No,

01:07:14that would have been impossible.

01:07:16You see,

01:07:16there was a very large,

01:07:17heavy Welsh dresser

01:07:18in front of that door.

01:07:19Ah.

01:07:21When you spoke to Mrs Hope,

01:07:22did you ask her

01:07:23if she was in possession

01:07:23of a key

01:07:24to the front or back door

01:07:25of 34?

01:07:26Yes,

01:07:26I did.

01:07:26Mrs Hope had not had

01:07:27any keys to 34

01:07:28since Mrs Taylor

01:07:29had had the locks changed.

01:07:30Now,

01:07:31did you check

01:07:31the defendant's story

01:07:32of her having spent

01:07:34some days in crew?

01:07:35No,

01:07:36there didn't seem

01:07:36any need to.

01:07:37Well,

01:07:37do you have the address

01:07:38at least of the friend

01:07:39with whom she stayed?

01:07:40No.

01:07:41So,

01:07:42for all you know,

01:07:42Detective Sergeant,

01:07:43the defendant might have

01:07:44just spent a few hours

01:07:45on a platform

01:07:46at crew station,

01:07:47or indeed,

01:07:47not even have gone

01:07:48to crew at all.

01:07:51Remember

01:07:51that the prosecution

01:07:52must prove

01:07:53beyond all reasonable doubt

01:07:55that the defendant,

01:07:57Olive Hope,

01:07:57was attempting

01:07:58during this period

01:07:59to deprive her tenant,

01:08:00Audrey Taylor,

01:08:01of her lawful occupation

01:08:02of 34 Grange Lane

01:08:04by a series of acts

01:08:05calculated to interfere

01:08:07with Mrs Taylor's

01:08:08peace and comfort.

01:08:09In effect,

01:08:10by trying to make

01:08:11her life a misery.

01:08:12Now,

01:08:13it is not illegal

01:08:14for neighbours

01:08:15to be on bad terms

01:08:16with each other,

01:08:16nor even for this

01:08:17to express itself

01:08:18in the occasional crossword

01:08:19or spiteful deed,

01:08:20and it is quite clear

01:08:21that there has been

01:08:22bad blood

01:08:23between these two ladies.

01:08:25But what you have

01:08:26to ask yourselves

01:08:27is whether

01:08:29the defendant

01:08:29has done

01:08:30any of the things

01:08:31which the prosecution

01:08:32alleges that she has done,

01:08:34and if so,

01:08:35whether she has done

01:08:35all of those things,

01:08:36or only some of them,

01:08:38and whether

01:08:38what she did

01:08:39was calculated

01:08:40to interfere

01:08:41with Mrs Taylor's

01:08:42peace and comfort,

01:08:43and was intended,

01:08:44in effect,

01:08:45to drive her out.

01:08:47Will you now retire,

01:08:49elect a foreman

01:08:50to speak on your behalf

01:08:51and consider your verdict?

01:09:00Foreman,

01:09:01just answer the question

01:09:02I am about to ask you,

01:09:03yes or no.

01:09:05Members of the jury,

01:09:06have you reached a verdict

01:09:07upon which you are all agreed?

01:09:08Yes.

01:09:09On the charge of harassment

01:09:10of a residential occupier,

01:09:12contrary to section 30

01:09:13of the Rent Act 1965,

01:09:15do you find the accused

01:09:16guilty or not guilty?

01:09:18Guilty.

01:09:18Is that the verdict

01:09:19of you all?

01:09:20It is.

01:09:23You have been found guilty

01:09:25of what can only be described

01:09:27as very misguided behaviour.

01:09:30Were it not for the fact

01:09:31that this behaviour

01:09:31seems to be out of character,

01:09:34and that there is no reason

01:09:35to believe that you

01:09:36will ever repeat it,

01:09:37the sentence of the court

01:09:38would be extremely severe.

01:09:41As it is,

01:09:41you will pay a fine

01:09:42of £250,

01:09:43or in default of payment,

01:09:45go to prison for six months.

01:09:47The courts will rise.

01:09:48You can join us again

01:10:07when our cameras return

01:10:08to bring you another case

01:10:10in the Crown Court.

01:10:11I am running out,

01:10:13I am ready.

01:10:14You have to be right.

01:10:16I do not know.

01:10:17I am at

01:10:30you줄 a score.

01:10:30I am at you.

01:10:31You have to be right.

01:10:31This is the處 by referred to

01:10:32the值.

01:10:32The rugged state

01:10:34and the connection

01:10:34and the shore

01:10:37of the earth trots

01:10:37I Joe

01:10:39worry about

Crown Court - Safe as Houses (1977)

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