London

A man recently returned a book which was due in 1964, as per England's Dudley Library. A staff working in the library was left shocked when a guy submitted a book for return which was due in 1964. According to the report published in Metro News, pensioner David Hickman, aged 76, came to return the overdue book after 58 years and accrued staggering late fees of GBP 42,340.

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According to the news outlet, Hickman was 17 years old when he got the book "The Law for Motorists" issued from the library in 1964.

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He decided to borrow the book to make himself happy after he had a car accident. Hickman had collided with town mayor Councillor WGK Griffiths' car when he was waving to teenage girls from Dudley High School for Girls. 

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"My car was a 1947 Ford Popular, and, in those days, if you had "wheels," you were top of the food-chain when it came to getting the attention of girls. I'd been waving to the girls coming from the school, and my car drifted into the middle of the road. I was shocked to see the mayor. I borrowed the book to look to see if I had any defence,” Hickman said. 

"My mother was furious when I went to court. People were more concerned with complying with authority back then. I even tried to buy the newspaper hoarding that listed the day's headlines so that she wouldn't see it," he added. 

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After the incident, Hickman remained preoccupied with dealing with the legal matter and kept on postponing the return of the library book, finally tucking it away in a drawer. 

He then relocated to London and completely forgot about returning the book. However, this week, the 76-year-old, decided to go back to his hometown and return the book to the library in person.

As per the rules, Hickman would have been fined £42,340 as late fees for the book by the library according to an overdue fine of 20 pence for each day. However, the library decided to waive the charges after hearing his story. 

(With inputs from agencies)

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