Folkestone Herald
23-4-1960
Local News
Accused of being in charge of his car while under the influence of drink,
Ralph Stanley Lowe, of 6, Cherry Garden Avenue, Folkestone, was at Folkestone Magistrates’
Court on Tuesday sent for trial at Folkestone Quarter Sessions in July
Mr. Ian Graham, prosecuting, said that police officers saw Lowe slumped
over the driving wheel of a Hillman Husky car parked outside a row of shops in
Dover Road, near the junction with Morrison Road, just before midnight on
March 29th. The
ignition key was in the vehicle and the officers formed the opinion that Lowe
was under the influence of drink. Taken to Folkestone police station, Lowe said he had been drinking at
the Valiant Sailor public house. He was unable to explain what he had been
doing between 10.30 p.m. and the time he was found by the police.
Giving evidence of arrest, P.C. Percy Goreham said “I saw a man slumped
over the steering wheel. As I approached the car a dog in the back began
barking, but this did not rouse the man. I tapped on the glass window of the
door and the man raised his head and wagged his finger at the dog. I saw the
man had on his lap some fish and chip paper. I asked him if he was unwell and
he made no reply. I asked him to lower the window, which he did. I asked him
again if he was feeling unwell and he said “I go to sleep. I can`t help
it.””. P.C. Goreham added that when Lowe
got out of his car he was unsteady on his feet and his speech was slurred. “I
told him that I was of the opinion that he was under the influence of alcohol”,
P.C. Goreham said, “and that I was taking him to Folkestone Police Station”. He
said “Why did you come that way?” At Folkestone police station, P.C. Goreham continued,
he asked him if he had any documents relating to the car. Lowe replied “I
would rather not say anything”.
Dr. Derek Musselwhite said that when he examined
Lowe at the police station he decided that he was under the influence of
alcohol to such an extent as to be unable to be properly in charge of a car. During the examination Lowe was very
quiet and was rather slow at answering
questions. His tongue was furred and his breath smelt very strongly of alcohol. He was unsteady when standing on one
leg and could not do a “knees bend” properly. He was fairly steady while
walking and standing with his feet together, and was fairly accurate in
touching the end of his nose with his finger with his eyes closed. The pupils of
his eyes were normal.
P.S. Richard Grayling said that at the police
station Lowe said “I just fell asleep. I am always doing it”. Later he said “I
must have been asleep there for an hour”.
Mr. C.B. Croft, defending, said that the
prosecution had put forward an extremely weak case against Lowe. He asked the
Bench to find that there was no prima facie case against him. Commenting on the
medical evidence, Mr. Croft said the fact that Lowe`s tongue was furred was not
very significant. Neither was the evidence that his breath smelt of alcohol; it
did not mean that he had necessarily taken a lot of drink. Apart from being
unable to do a “knees bend” and being unsteady on one leg – both fairly natural
things in many people – Lowe seemed to have done well in all the usual tests.
The Magistrates decided that Lowe had a case to
answer and committed him for trial.
Folkestone Herald
30-12-1967
Local News
Mr. Alan Basil Scott Ransford, licensee of the Valiant Sailor Inn, near
Folkestone, collapsed and died at Folkestone Central railway station last week. He was 60. Mr.
Ransford, who leaves a widow, was a native of Rickmansworth,
Hertfordshire, but spent most of his childhood in
Essex. He was educated at Dulwich College, and later went to Wye Agricultural
College, where he obtained a degree in agriculture. He worked
in the Colonial Service before becoming host at the Valiant Sailor Inn, almost
15 years ago.
A funeral service was held on Saturday at St. Luke’s, Hawkinge, followed
by cremation at Hawkinge Crematorium.
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