The two examples of today’s mangle both occur in the reproduction of direct speech, one in a novel and the other in a news report. First, the fiction:
Kristen Middleton, Zombie Games (Origins). Self-published (2013), p. 185. Link: Amazon LookInside
There is no hint elsewhere that the writer is attempting to reproduce individual characters’ grammar usage, so this seems to be an unfortunate error.
The factual piece reports a supposed sighting of the so-called Beast of Trowbridge:
It’s improbable that Mr Smith provided his contribution in writing, so the report is more likely to be quoting from a face-to-face or telephone interview with the witness. Either Mr Smith correctly said would have, or possibly the contraction would’ve, and the reporter mangled the grammar into ‘would of’; or Mr Smith said ‘would of’, and the reporter failed to convert this idiosyncratic or dialectal usage into standard English, as would be customary in the British media.
I find it very annoying when ppl do this - especially when they go on to refuse correction as if their English were governed by the few prescriptive rules of English...
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