THE job of a Worcester hansom cab driver was very much in jeopardy at this time a century ago after he made yet another court appearance from drunkenness.
The Journal of 1903 reported the case at the City Police Court: "William Henry Cockbill (32), cab driver of Moor Street, Worcester was summonsed for being drunk in charge of a horse and hansom cab in Shrub Hill Road on Saturday.
"He had been 10 times convicted before, five times for being drunk in charge of his cab. He was fined 10s. with 7s.6d costs. From the same court on the same day, another case brought a somewhat cynical Journal headline: "Water Cure for Melancholia."
"Annie Crowley (26), single woman of Brighton Villas, Barry Street, Worcester, was charged with attempting to commit suicide by throwing herself into the Severn at Diglis. She jumped into the water but was rescued in an exhausted condition by Charles Perry, a tug engineer.
"Prisoner said she had tried to drown herself because she had been ill for a long time. The police surgeon reported that she was suffering from melancholia. The magistrates decided that the prisoner could be released into the care of her mother."
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