Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer – Saturday 11 December 1948

Alleged Knife Attack on Sweetheart

An 18-year-old girl, Sylvia Mary Foster, of Kingsway, Thurnscoe, near Barnsley, who was alleged by the prosecution to have been the victim of a cold-blooded attack with a knife, gave evidence in a case in which Cyril Norman Perry (19), described as her childhood sweetheart, of Ings Boad, Little Houghton, Barnsley, was charged with wounding her with intent to murder.

Mr. R. Lyons (prosecuting) said that during the alleged attack Perry inflicted grave injuries on the girl. Afterwards, he alleged, Perry expressed his regret that his intention to murder her had failed.

Describing the alleged attack, Mr. Lyons said that when the girl was on her way to work at the canteen at Houghton Main Colliery on September 16, Perry, who had been waiting on the road, struck at her with a knife and said: I’ll see you don’t do it on anyone else.”

Mr. Lyons added that Foster had have 20 stitches inserted in her wounds. In evidence, Foster described incidents at a cinema when she was accompanied by a man and Perry came and sat beside her.

Cross-examined by Mr. B. W. Sykes (for Perry), she agreed that both Perry and herself had fiery tempers. The hearing was adjourned until Monday