When South Tyneside became a gamblers paradise 60 years ago

The Grand National is the big attraction at Aintree but 60 years ago, it was a different type of gambling which was raising eyebrows in South Shields.

Loads of applications for one-armed bandits

The council had just approved its heaviest-yet batch of applications for permission to install one-armed bandits at licensed premises in the town.

According to a new report by the chief constable, there were 95 public houses in South Shields. And of those, 43 had at least one fruit machine.

But the machines were not just making their presence felt in pubs, they could be found also in cafes, sports stadiums and ballrooms.

‘It seems the thing to have a one-armed bandit’

A spokesman for Jarrow Town Hall said: “They are in almost every pub in Jarrow, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Meanwhile, traders were latching onto the fact that a fruit machine could perk up trade.

Elizabeth Reid, manageress of the Bede Cafe in Jarrow, said: “It seems the thing to have a one-armed bandit today.

“I don’t think it will lower the tone of the cafe, as long as we are careful about the kind of people we let in.”

‘It represents a way of passing idle moments’

Meanwhile, George Mordain, manager of The Fountain Inn and president of South Shields Licensed Victuallers’ Association, denied that the machines were addictive.

He said: “A bandit does not attract people into the place. It represents a way of passing idle moments, with a sporting chance.

“I do not know anybody addicted to one of these five-shilling machines, and you have to be really trying to lose very much.”

Tell us about your best memories of both the Grand National and South Tyneside fruit machines of the past.

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