abstract
| - Charlie was a bus conductor and a friend of inspector Harry Hewitt who asked why his bus wasn't moving from a stop one day in February 1961. Charlie told him that the driver, Fred Fearns, had just "gone over t'road". Harry was suspicious that him and Fred but pulling a fast one but left them to it. On the bus were Martha Longhurst and Minnie Caldwell who had deliberately not paid the full amount for their journey, conveniently "forgetting" the fare increase introduced a fortnight ago. Harry inspected their tickets and when Minnie blurted out where they were going, asked Charlie what they had claimed they wanted when they'd paid their lower fare. Martha lied about their previous conversation and a row looked like breaking out between Charlie and Martha. Harry stepped in and reminded the two ladies to get off at St. George's, or pay the excess fare. Before the bus set off, he quietly told Charlie to watch the pair. At the end of the day, Charlie was a customer in Jackson's Chip Shop when a large queue built up. He chatted to driver Jeff for a while, praising Harry's fairness, but eventually lost patience and loudly demanded to know were the chips were, saying that if they were left much longer they'd turn to seed. Charlie was an early appearance in the programme for Ted Morris who appeared irregularly between 1969 and 1978 as bookie's clerk Ted Loftus.
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