Eat your heart out, Mr Health and Safety: Images from a more innocent age



As the Tories pledge to curb meddling officials, glorious images of days when childhood was allowed to be fun.

A new book presents scenes from a bygone era when men from the council with clipboards did not swoop down on children swinging from lampposts, climbing walls or dangling from the string of a kite.

Not to mention practising the noble art of boxing...



Hands up, you lot! Youths learn the noble art from a local bobby in London's Catford in 1938

Squeezing in: A young football fan gets a better view among a packed crowd

Nursery rhyme: If toddlers wanted to play Humpty Dumpty, that was educational

Before cars: London children improvise a rope swing Gone fishing: With only his dogs to stop him falling in

Come in No 2, your time is up: Children learn to swim hanging from a rope

Go on, Miss, do another emergency stop: Evacuees go for a drive in the countryside

We have lift-off: A young girl in Thirties London hangs on to the string of a kite

Horse sense: Riders swap roles with their mounts to quench their thirst

● When I Were A Lad: Snapshots From A Time That Health And Safety Forgot, by Andrew Davies (Portico, £5.99). For a copy, call 0845 155 0720.





