No one noticed Alfred Hinds wandering the streets of London in 1965, wearing a modest raincoat, staring into space. Not even when he went to the movies on Saturday with his wife to watch some crime and prison movies. … He was the spitting image of a typical little man. However, by then he was famous throughout the UK for his long escape history and because he had won his latest legal battle. Two and a half months into his sentence, he won a trial against the Scotland Yard commissioner who had arrested him eleven years earlier. His correspondent, Alfonso Parra, said:One of the most unusual cases of British justice». The British followed his entry and exit from prison and his interviews in the press and on television with amazement, just as the Spaniards had been reading court reports in amazement for months.
Alfred Hinds was a 38-year-old contractor who specialized in building demolition.
Hinds’ story began to be written on the night of December 24, 1953, when a criminal gang attacked the Maples department store in London and stole seven million pesetas. Soon, four of the thieves were arrested and confessed to committing the crime. A few days later, Commissioner Herbert Sparks arrested a fifth suspect. Alfred Hinds was a 38 years old, contractor specialized in building demolitionWhose father died in prison after robbing a bank. He had a record of petty crimes, and because of his work, was closely involved with dynamite. In one of his suits, a substance was discovered that, according to experts, matched the fuse used to blow up the bunker.
Although Hinds maintained his innocence, he was found guilty He was sentenced to twelve years in prison. From Nottingham prison, he then began a long legal battle, diligently studying the codes his wife had brought him. “For a guy who left school at thirteen, he did very well, and He was able to present his case five times before different courts Through a series of legal maneuvers…but the result was always the same: back to prison.”
A “black and white” report from 1965
He is a model prisoner he has become Leak expert. In 1955, taking advantage of a film shoot in prison, he had to escape the fire and took possession of Veladego. He managed to evade authorities for up to 245 days. In those eight months he bombarded the MPs with letters and conducted numerous interviews. Back in his cell, Hinds sued the authorities for illegally detaining him in Dublin. His case was hopeless, but it helped him to be heard by important lawyers and to carry out the second part of his plan. He asked to be taken to the toilet, and once the handcuffs were removed, he locked his guards inside and He fled from courtConfused between a group of lawyers. Police arrested him the same day, before he boarded a plane to Dublin, although his stay in Chelmsford Prison was short. A year later he escaped again through a gap He opened it in the prison bathroom and this time was able to travel to Ireland. He took the name Bishop and opened a car buying and selling business with great success, until he was arrested six months later on 55 counts of smuggling. It took police two weeks to discover that Mr. Obispo was the wanted Hinds.
When he returned to prison, he resumed his legal battle and was able on several occasions to take his demands to the House of Lords. He also sued Commissioner Sparks for libel for claiming he was guilty in a newspaper, and despite the odds, he won this time. He received compensation of 221,000 pesetas and spent the last days of his sentence at home. But Hinds didn’t stop there. He requested another trial in the “Maples case”, which he again lost. “The King of Escape” published his memoirs in a bookContempt of court“, which was about to be made into a movie. There was no shortage of plots for one of those movies that I love.