IT was a shocking commentary on the social conditions of this country 100 years ago that it was possible for a man of 33 years of age to die of starvation.

Yet that was the effect of the verdict of a coroner’s jury that investigated the circumstances surrounding the death of a man, who had been found the previous day in a shocking state of exhaustion on the Worcester Road at Evesham.

In its report of the inquest, the Journal took issue with a statement by the coroner that criticised a Mr Victor Wasley, who was the first to spot the man sitting under the hedge and who at once fetched the police.

The report said: “The spot where the poor fellow was sitting was only a very short distance from the police station, the wound on his wrist was so slight that the bleeding was hardly perceptible, and Mr Wasley did what he thought best in sending the police, who had an expert knowledge of first-aid, to the spot.

“Practically no time was lost, and it was hardly encouraging to blame Mr Wasley for what he did not rather than thank him for what he did.

“From the doctor’s evidence it is clear that the slight wounds, which apparently were self-inflicted, did not contribute materially to the man’s death, and though we are strong believers in a thorough knowledge of first aid being obtained where possible, we fail to see that this was a case which proved the value of this knowledge.

Our sympathies are with Mr Wasley in the criticism to which he was, we think, undeservedly, subjected.