We heard today about how a 12-year old boy driving a Genie GTH-636 Telehandler fork lift truck led police on an hour long chase at speeds of between 15 and 20mph through the Michigan town of Ann Arbor.

The lad had climbed aboard the vehicle outside Forsythe Middle School at around 6:45pm last Saturday night, and using the key found in the cab, set off without any lights, through the streets careering into at least 10 parked cars.

However one witness said that at least one of the cars he hit might well have been the result of his being blinded by police shining bright lights directly into his field of vision.

Some people even expressed their admiration for his driving skills. 

With emergency lights and sirens blaring, police set off in pursuit of the 35,000 pound erratically driven vehicle urging the boy to pull over.

Police had to temporarily withdraw from the chase when the boy drove across the M-14 highway after which deputies from the office of the Washtenaw County Sheriff took over.

Luckily no one was injured in the incident and once he boy had come to a halt just before 8pm, he was unceremoniously pulled from the vehicle and placed in a juvenile detention centre.

The police department added that, “The incident remains an active and ongoing criminal investigation.”

An inevitable conclusion, I guess.

Being a Tuesday I was once again joined by Billericay’s very own queen of history, Margaret Mills.

The subject chosen today by Margaret concerned an Essex cricketer with a most unusual Welsh sounding name – Hugh Glendwr Palmer Owen – who played for the county between 1882 and 1902.

You can listen again here to what Margaret had to say about this incredible man: –

Look forward to your company once again next week,
Scott