A WORCESTER pub landlord has been hit with hefty damages for showing Sky Tv without a licence.

James McKeever, licencee of The Winning Post, in Pope Iron Road was ordered to pay for screening Sky Sports and ordered to pay £14,416 in damages, plus legal costs of £5,300, amounting to a total of £19,716.

George Lawson, head of commercial piracy at Sky, said: “Orders like these demonstrate the seriousness of screening Sky Sports without the required commercial licenses.

"It is damaging to the industry, and those licensees who choose to show content in this way should be aware that they are at a high risk of being caught and facing substantial penalties.

"Our customers are very important to us and we will not hesitate in taking action against pubs who continue to screen Sky Sports fraudulently, ensuring that the thousands of the law-abiding pubs and clubs who pay for legitimate commercial Sky subscriptions are not short changed.“

He was convicted in 2015 and given a £300 fine with £2,700 costs before Sky claimed for damages.

Mr McKeever said that he had not heard anything since 2015 and thought that the matter had been put to bed.

He added that he has stopped showing Sky TV at the pub.