Formby Prank Admittee

The Mysterious Disappearance

Garden ornaments, including gnomes, went missing from various gardens in the town, leaving their owners perplexed and concerned. The situation was so unusual that it made headlines, with journalists investigating the mysterious disappearance.

Ransom Notes Left Behind

In place of the missing garden ornaments, sinister ransom notes were left behind, demanding 25p to be left at a specific location for each gnome’s safe return. The notes were taken seriously by the residents, and an identification parade was held to allow householders to reclaim their ornaments.

The Confession

Almost 50 years after the event, a 62-year-old man named Arthur came forward on Radio 2’s Vernon Kay show to confess to the prank. He revealed that he was 15 at the time and committed the misdeeds with his five-year-old brother, Colin. Arthur expressed remorse for causing grief to the families of the affected residents.

The Details

Arthur recalled seeing a gnome in a garden and wondering why people had them. “It just grew out of that,” he said. He and his brother went out one evening to look for gardens with gnomes, making a note of at least a dozen locations. The next night, they collected the gnomes and crafted some amateurish ransom notes, which they left in place of the ornaments.

Arthur made his confession after a woman called Jenny heard a Vernon’s Vault archive item from Nationwide about the thefts and recognized her cousin’s story. Arthur admitted that he was something of a wayward teenager at the time and that the incident had been on his conscience over the years. He joked that the one thing he regretted was damaging one of the gnomes when they lifted it, as it was concreted in and they broke it.

Arthur’s apology was accepted by Vernon Kay, who assured him that the nation would forgive the “harmless prank.” Arthur begged forgiveness from all the families that he had caused grief, hoping that the statute of limitations had passed on this one.