A 20-year-old was given the death sentence for murdering a caretaker in the old Brecknock Road printing works.

An Old Bailey jury took four hours to find Arthur Bosworth guilty.

Victim John Folkard was struck with a mallet during a break-in in December 1957.

He lived with his family on the third floor of the building. After the attack, John’s wife saw him enter their bedroom covered in blood. He died six days later.

Bosworth’s 17-year-old companion gave evidence against him in the case. “I held his arm but he wrenched it free. Bosworth struck him on the head with the mallet. The man screamed, backed out of the doorway and Bosworth followed him. The man was screaming all the time, I could hear dull thuds.”

While on remand, Bosworth was alleged to have told inmates: “We cautioned him not to get up. He ignored the caution, so we let him have it.”

The 17-year-old was convicted of breaking in.