A Feltham boozer was among a trio of Merlin Inns pubs hit with fines totalling more than £120,000 for illegally airing matches on Sky Sports.

The pub company along with three of its employees admitted to 13 offences following an investigation by the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT).

Antony McCarthy, designated premise supervisor (DPS) at The Three Horseshoes on Sunbury Road, Feltham, was one of three employees each fined £600 plus a victim surcharge of £60.

The conviction also applied to Surrey pair DPS Claire Jones at Sir Douglas Haig at The Street in Effingham, and Stephen Dobson at The Cranley Hotel, The Common, Cranleigh.

Merlins Inns Ltd which has 14 pubs in the UK, pleaded guilty to 10 offences at Redhill Magistrates Court on Tuesday (April 4) and was fined £90,000 and ordered to pay costs of £28,500.

Stephen Gerrard, prosecuting manager at FACT, said: “Regrettably for Merlin Inns Ltd they choose to ignore official notices alerting them to their illegal activity and refuse advice to legitimise their behaviour.

"Now the company is left with a substantial fine and three employees with criminal records.

“This result should serve as a strong warning to any pub company or employee thinking of bypassing the legitimate process to think twice about their actions.”

The offences brought were of dishonest reception of a television transmission contrary to Section 297 (1) of the Copyright Design and Patents Act 1988.

Alison Dolan, deputy managing director at Sky Business, added: “The significant penalty applied in this case not only demonstrates how seriously the courts take the issue of fraudulently screening TV programmes, but also indicates just how significantly the suppliers of illegal equipment have been misleading publicans.

“The courts continue to send a clear message to publicans who consider fraudulently screening TV programmes in their venue – if you choose to televise content illegally then you run the very real risk of being caught and face substantial penalties and a criminal record.”

To report a suspected illegal broadcasting visit Sky's Fighting Fraud web page.

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