PEOPLE in Bradford are being advised to make sure they have a TV licence if they watch live television at home.

Over the coming weeks, TV Licensing will be visiting unlicensed addresses within Bradford. The penalty for watching or recording live TV without a licence is prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000.

A colour TV licence currently costs £145.50 and is required by anyone watching or recording television programmes as they are shown on TV, whether they are using a television set, computer, mobile, tablet, or any other device. A licence is also needed to watch live TV online.

Matt Thompson, a spokesman for TV Licensing, said: “We’ve been meeting with local community groups over the past couple of weeks explaining the need to be correctly licensed and the risks associated with evasion. We would always prefer people to be licensed rather than risk prosecution. The actual rate of evasion continues to remain low, at between just five and six per cent, so we know most people are correctly licensed."

For more information visit tvlicensing.co.uk.