Story Archive

Sock it to Me

Two men in Southport, Merseyside, England, who told people they needed to collect used socks for charity, managed to collect 10,000 pairs. But the two, Steven Bain, 27, and Steven Gawthrop, 31, were actually foot fetishists, police say, and the socks were piled all over their apartment up to 18 inches deep. “They were all over the furniture, hanging from lampshades and even in the microwave, frying pan and cooker,” said one officer who raided the flat. “It was like there had been an explosion in a sock factory.” Police also found pictures of some of the victims holding up their socks before donating them. The pictured included two uniformed policemen and a traffic warden. (RC/London Times) ...However, police were unable to find any two that matched.
Author’s Note: According to the Mersey Blogs (post from 16 January 2009), the two were convicted of conspiring to commit acts of gross indecency, jailed for 18 months, and ordered to register as sex offenders for 10 years.
Original Publication Date: 07 June 1998
This story is in True’s book collections, in Volume 4.

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