London - Midge Mather yesterday lost a battle to clear her name after she silenced the bells of her village church by cutting the bell-ropes with a hacksaw. Mather (65) claimed she broke into the church using a crowbar and sawed through the ropes to stop the noise aggravating her brother's heart condition.
But a magistrate at Chippenham Magistrates in Wiltshire handed the white-haired pensioner a conditional discharge after finding her guilty of causing criminal damage. He then ordered police officers to take Mather to the cells for 10 minutes after a courtroom outburst in which she claimed she had had an unfair trial.