An extraordinary incident of robbery with violence has been reported from Abergele (Image), North Wales. The incident occurred near Llanfairtalhaiarn, where Mr Robert William Wynne resides alone in a large mansion surrounded by its own grounds.

On Tuesday, between four and five o’clock, Mr Wynne went outside and noticed birds flying about in a way that suggested a prowler was present. He decided to keep watch and was about to conceal himself in the boiler house at the rear of the mansion when suddenly, a strange man appeared. Mr Wynne confronted the intruder, but without a word, the man attacked him brutally with a heavy piece of iron. In the ensuing struggle, Mr Wynne was overpowered, and the intruder stole his belongings, including a loaded revolver, and tied him up.

The assailant then demanded £30, but Mr Wynne stated he didn’t have that much, and the man found £4 10s in his pockets. He also took Mr Wynne’s silver watch and threatened to shoot him if he found more money in the house. Fearing for his life, Mr Wynne managed to escape to a lodge nearby by tying blankets together and sliding down from the window. In the meantime, the attacker fled through the kitchen window.

Mr Wynne, who was covered in blood, ran about 500 yards to inform his lodge keeper, who promptly contacted the police at Llantairtalhaiarn. The local police officer alerted Abergele, and Constable Pendlebury, who rode out on his bicycle, arrested a man named Timothy Swift, a tramping labourer from Limerick. Swift was found with £4 10s and a loaded revolver in his possession.

Swift was brought before the Abergele Bench on Wednesday morning and remanded until the following Tuesday. Despite sustaining three head wounds, Mr Wynne, a middle-aged gentleman, was present at the court proceedings. The incident has caused shock and concern in the peaceful town of Abergele.

Nottingham Evening Post – Friday 30 December 1904