Daily Mirror

Illegal pit bull bit off finger

Newly discovered £1.30 photo of Western outlaw could be worth millions

- BY CHRISTOPHE­R BUCKTIN US Editor chris.bucktin@mirror.co.uk

AN ex-mayor has given up campaignin­g after a pit bull bit off one of her fingers.

Councillor Pam Brivio, 71, was posting newsletter­s for her local Labour party when the attack took place.

She said: “I pushed the leaflet through – then heard a massive thud at the door and it just bit my finger off.”

The former mayor of Dover says she will call time on 30 years of leafleting.

The dog – a banned breed of pit bull – was seized by Kent police after last month’s attack and later put down.

HERE’S an extremely rare sight from the Wild West, Billy the Kid captured… on camera.

This picture of the outlaw playing croquet with a gang member at a wedding was unearthed among a bunch of photos in a California junk shop and bought for £1.30.

But experts believe the incredible shot could now be worth up to £3.3million after the only other confirmed photo, from 1880, sold for £1.5million four years ago. This 4 x 5in picture was said to have been

An original Billy the Kid photo is the holy grail of Western Americana

taken at Chaves County, New Mexico, in 1878. It was authentica­ted by San Francisco Americana experts Kagin’s.

P re si d ent Dr Donald Kagin said: “This iconic artifact is history in your hand, a snapshot of the lifestyle of one of the Wild West’s most notorious figures. “The historical importance of a photograph of Billy the Kid alongside known members of his gang is incalculab­le. This is perhaps the single most compelling piece of Western Americana we have ever seen.”

The firm’s David McCarthy added: “An original Billy the Kid photo is the holy grail of Western Americana. We had to be certain we could answer and verify where, when, how and why this was taken. Simple resemblanc­e DAVID McCARTHY EXPERT AT KAGIN’S is not enough. A team of experts had to address every detail in the photo to ensure nothing was out of place.”

Born William Henry McCarty, Billy the Kid was said to have shot his first victim at the age of 17.

He also killed a sheriff and his deputy after the murder of a ranch owner he worked for in 1878.

The outlaw went on the run for two years. He was caught and sentenced to hang but escaped and was eventually killed aged 21 by sheriff Pat Garrett on 14 July 1881.

 ??  ??
 ??  ?? CROQUET CORRAL Billy, left, and pal playing the game at a wedding in 1878
CROQUET CORRAL Billy, left, and pal playing the game at a wedding in 1878
 ??  ?? PRIZED Only other known snap of the young outlaw
PRIZED Only other known snap of the young outlaw
 ??  ?? DISASTROUS Davina McCall
DISASTROUS Davina McCall
 ??  ?? SAVAGED Pam’s injured hand
SAVAGED Pam’s injured hand

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