Pub fined in TV footy case

The licensee of a Lancashire pub has been fined £4,320 for using a foreign TV channel to show live football matches to her customers.

Julie Hanson, of the Farthings in Blackburn, was found guilty at Accrington Magistrates' Court and also had to pay costs of £1,280 for the offence.

Hanson, was found to be streaming games through the Albanian TV station Tring. The Publican's Morning Advertiser understands that a number of prosecutions involving Tring are in the pipeline because the cases will remain unaffected by the on-going Karen Murphy case in Europe as Albania is outside the EU.

A spokesman for Media Protection Services said: "It is reassuring that such fines are being levied on those infringing the law by utilising foreign satellite decoder cards, which is also impacting upon, and unfairly influencing, the competition be-tween themselves and publicans abiding by the law."

In a separate incident, Hanson demanded an apology from police following an unsuccessful 60-officer drug raid on the pub.