The story of the one-legged man as told by Bridgwater’s David Peek in last week’s Mercury has had a surprising update.

Mr Peek recalls the time when two one-legged men were convalescing in hospital after both had been involved in unfortunate accidents. One of them was a family friend by the name of Harry Evans who had lost his leg after being run over by a lorry. While recovering in Bridgwater Hospital he found the patient next to also had lost a leg.

Mr Peek said: “At supper time a glass of medicinal stout was proffered which Harry accepted gladly however his friend only quaffed cider so at the appointed hour he would swing his good leg out of bed and hop-hop-hop to the French windows and out onto the balcony then hop-hop-hop again down the metal fire escape and into The River Parrot next door for his tipple and then return without the matron seeing him.”

Mr Evans recovered and worked for a brewery collecting rents and meeting the landlords of pubs including Fred at The Catcott Inn in a specially adapted car. And this is where the story takes a new turn. Mr Peek takes up the story: “Oops! Now my wife has read the story, she thinks my memory of the chronological order of these 50 or so years ago is slightly incorrect. She thinks Harry was still two legged on the visits for the Brewery when he saw Fred in his hat and when he became one-legged went straight into his desk job at Clarkes.”

In the old words of an even older journalist, never let facts get in the way of a good story. Do you have a yarn to tell from back in the day? Email harry.mottram@nqsw.co.uk