Watch expert found guilty of Titanic con
Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
A WATCH expert was found guilty yesterday of conning an elderly woman into exchanging a watch presented to a steward on the Titanic, valued at pounds 20,000, for just pounds 35. A Southampton Crown Court jury took less than three hours to find Kim Webb, 41, guilty of obtaining property by deception.
Recorder Nicholas Jarman QC told Webb he could face a short prison sentence or a substantial fine when he comes to be sentenced.
Webb, of West End, Southampton, told Lela Hughes her watch was worth just pounds 15 scrap value. He exchanged it with her for a pounds 35 service on another watch but then told an employee it would make "a nice little nest egg". An identical watch sold for pounds 20,000 in March this year and could now fetch as much as pounds 40,000.
Mrs Hughes inherited her watch from a friend of Titanic crewman Alfred Crawford, Janice Brennan, for the prosecution, said.
Both watches were presented to crewmen from the sunken liner by the Countess of Rothes, a wealthy aristocrat who survived the disaster.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments