When Andrew Ray, child film star, returned home one day in May 1953 from riding his bike caked in mud, he knew he was for it. So he told his mum Sybil that four older boys had asked him for money. When he refused, they set upon him, duffing him up. Though they got away with four shillings, luckily they never found his mum’s shopping money. Sybil called the police and the newspapers ­ who duly ran the story prominently (see Daily Mirror below). Not surprsingly, despite Andrew’s detailed descriptions, the police never caught up with the heartless yobbos. Probably because they didn't exist: the story, of course, was a fabrication - contrived to escape his mum’s wrath.

Daily Mirror 1953