The Lincolnshire Echo has issued a belated (and lighthearted) apology to reader Stella Odam, who got into trouble when a picture of her appeared on its pages in the 1930s.

Peter Brown, the man behind the paper’s Gossiper column, took it on himself to apologise on behalf of the writers and photographers of more than 60 years ago.

Stella, it seems, got a “good hiding” for allowing her little sister Betty to drink from a park water fountain one long, hot summer’s day.

How do we know? Well, young Betty’s photo appeared across the Echo’s front page with a story about the heatwave.

Peter tells the story: “Many a happy hour was spent in the Arboretum in Lincoln, keeping a watchful eye on youngster sister Betty.

“In those days, when life was very different from how it is today, Stella’s parents never worried too much if the little girls played in the park on their own.

“The only rules their father laid down was that Stella shouldn’t allow young Betty to drink from the fountain beside the main gate, and they should keep away from the public toilets.

“Stella always did as she was told, until that fateful day when the sun shone and temperatures soared.

“She gave in to temptation and allowed Betty to have a drink from the fountain.

“Unfortunately for Stella, at that precise moment, an Echo photographer was on hand to record the scene and their picture appeared on the front page of the Echo.

“It was spotted by the next-door neighbour who quickly drew attention to the picture and her angry father handed out a good hiding to Stella for disobeying him.”

Peter added solemnly: “We didn’t mean to get you into trouble.”

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