The High Bridge Death Trap

A startling incident occurred at this place on Thursday. A wayfaring lad, overcome by fatigue and the heat of the boiling sun, lay himself down beneath the sheltering hedge, and went to sleep.

When he awoke he had the curiosity to take a survey of the ‘ghastly precipice’ and by some means his tattered garment got entangled around one of the iron posts. In snatching it away he almost over-balanced himself. By a miraculous tug, however, he escaped precipitation. This unprotected spot will doubtless be rendered more secure after there has been a coroner’s inquest.

Mid Sussex Times 17 July 1900

Contributed by Malcolm Davison.