I'm been slowly checking all the sockets in my new house (1930s). In
one socket I found the neutral wires were in the earth terminal and
the earth in the neutral!!! How could this work? I thought any current
feeding back through earth would trip the circuit beaker. Apart from
further dodgy wiring in the house, could this be an indication of a
bigger problem, ie circuit breaker not working?

I'm going to keep checking and fixing the rest of the sockets in the
house, not being an electrician I can only really check the wires and
the correct way round and secure. Is it worth getting a qualified
electrician in to run some continuity checks etc? What else could they
check for?

Cheers

Chris