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Devils let loose in Lincoln

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“By the time astonished citizens rose from their beds there were only traces of the previous night’s orgy left. But charred buildings and broken windows couldn’t be washed away.”

The city’s authorities decided someone should be brought to the book for the riots and on Wednesday August 23, 12 men were arrested in their homes across Lincoln.

In court, nine of the men were found guilty of ring leading the violence and were sent “up the hill” to prison to serve a term of “hard labour” and it was later that night that the fire at Messrs Osbourne and Bros Motor Factory, which killed fireman Alfred Clay, broke out.

The story of the Lincoln Riots had become a bit of a mystery and it’s been said that perhaps it’s because it doesn’t stand out as one of the city’s finest.

However thanks to local researcher Tony Gadd, who bought the documentation in the pub in the 1960 for the price of a pint of beer, the tale can finally be told.

In the words of author and Echo reporter Pat Nurse: “The story of the Lincoln Riots is not a glorious one but it must be told.”

Devils Let Loose is available from bookshops in and around Lincoln and costs £5.99.

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