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Village resident jailed for kidnap and ransom demand

1991
A village man has been jailed for 15 years for the kidnap of a Markyate woman. John Warrington seized the wife of a wealthy Markyate businessman and locked her  up in the attic of a shop in the Old Town. A ransom of £500,000 was demanded via a series of bizarre telephone calls in which the kidnapper disguised his voice to sound like a Dalek. The victim was only rescued when a milkman doing his early morning round heard her cries for help.

Village mill burned down in arson attack

1991
The village’s historic mill has been burned down in what is believed to be an arson attack. The mill, which was a working water mill powered by the river Gate in the 19th century, has stood on the site for several centuries and probably dates back to Roman times.