Every man and his dog has, at some point, tried to come up with an elaborate excuse to get out of trouble.

The classic line, “The dog ate my homework,” is a favourite among schoolchildren - but it’s unlikely to hold up in a court of law.

However, in 1962, Frank Butcher of Bordon tried something remarkably similar at Guildford Bankruptcy Court.

When asked to produce his financial records following the closure of his struggling Bordon Cafe and Milk Bar, Butcher offered an unusual explanation.

Butcher said the account books had “been kept in a room and had been chewed by a litter of nine puppies”.

As you can imagine, this excuse did not sit well with the court.

The official receiver, Mr EC Sherwood, remarked: “I congratulate you, I have heard some excuses for not producing books before but never that they have been eaten by dogs.”

Butcher had taken over the Bordon Cafe on the High Street in 1956.

According to him, he worked tirelessly—day and night, seven days a week—to make the business a success.

For a while, it seemed to pay off. He soon acquired a milk bar on the same street, and even operated his own mobile tea bar at Broxhead Common.

However, a decline in the number of service personnel in the area caused his earnings to plummet to less than half of their former levels.

In 1960, he was forced to close the cafe, and the milk bar followed in 1961.

By 1960, with creditors closing in, Butcher admitted he was insolvent.

He owed around £700 to creditors and had a bank overdraft between £700 and £800.

Despite this, he did not immediately lodge a bankruptcy petition, believing he could still recover financially after taking over the catering for Hills at Bordon Camp in January 1961.

Eventually, Butcher disclosed that his total outstanding debt amounted to £3,252.

It was agreed he would make voluntary payments to settle his debts. However, the court also revealed a further judgment had been obtained against him by the Inland Revenue for four years of unpaid taxes.