MORE than 1,390 people were caught watching TV without a valid licence in Huddersfield in 2011, TV Licensing has revealed.

There were also figures around 160 in Brighouse, 922 in Halifax and 3,730 in Leeds.

And if you think you can get round the licence by using your computer then think again.

Tim Downs, TV Licensing spokesman for northern England, said: “On behalf of licence fee payers in Huddersfield we are committed to tackling evasion and enforcing the law among the small minority who should pay, but don’t. It’s only fair.

“People are given every opportunity to pay, but, if they fail to do so and watch TV illegally we will seek a prosecution.

“The penalty is a fine of up to £1,000, plus court costs and a victim surcharge.

“Anyone found guilty is also required to buy for a TV Licence at £145.50 if they still need one, or they could face a second prosecution. It’s really not worth the risk.”

More than 96% of UK households have a TV. Last year in West Yorkshire more than 13,047 people were caught watching TV illegally and almost 390,000 were caught across the UK.

A TV Licensing spokeswoman said: “You need a TV licence to watch or record programmes at the same time as they are shown on TV, regardless of which channel you’re watching, which device you are using – TV, computer, laptop, mobile phone or any other – and how you receive them, be it terrestrial, satellite, cable, via the internet or any other way.’’

She said: “You need a TV licence if you are watching the iPlayer’s live services, but not if you are only watching catch-up TV. These regulations are made clear with a pop-up message to anyone watching ‘live’ programmes on the iPlayer.

“While the popularity of online TV viewing has grown in recent years, with 34% of UK adults now claiming to have used the BBC iPlayer at least once, traditional viewing is still king with 89% of people still watching the majority of their TV on a TV set in their living room.

“As 96.7% of UK households have a TV set and the majority are already covered by a licence, most people wanting to watch online will already be covered.’’

For more information visit www.tvlicensing.co.uk