The Infamous Smugglers That Ruled the South of England

The most profitable of these was known as The Hawkhurst Gang.

Growing up on the South Coast, I have always loved hearing stories of smuggling on the high seas. Once when I was a teenager, I remember having a party on the beach; the police came and told us we had to put the fire out because a law from 1700 prohibits the lighting of fires. 

Pretty ridiculous, but in the 1700s, fires were used to signal boats out in t…