3:00pm Sunday 22nd November 2009
By Sam Chadderton
THE director of an entertainment guide website has hit out at council bosses after being prosecuted for flyposting in Blackburn town centre.
Richard Dyer, of Preston-based event promotion and ticket sales Internet site Skiddle.com, has been hit with a £225 in fixed penalty notices from the council’s defacement enforcement officer.
But Mr Dyer said his firm had nothing do with with the posters and had been deemed “guilty by association” because it sold tickets for the event.
He claimed the council had simply searched internet for the event and concluded Skiddle.com was responsible.
Council bosses refused to comment on the case.
The posters advertising a ‘Revival vs Paranoia’ night at the Cellar Bar, King Street, Blackburn, were put up around the town, but contained no details of the organiser. Blackburn with Darwen Coun-cil issued three £75 fixed penalty notices to Skiddle.com Mr Dyer is refusing to pay up, and vowed to fight the action in court.
He said Skiddle.com expressly forbade flyposting of events in its terms and conditions.
Mr Dyer said: “We are not mentioned anywhere on the posters. The councils want to pin the blame on a promotional website rather than the venue or indeed event organisers.
“I will quite happily sit in court over this. We are being found guilty by association, a very loose association.
“Last year there were Diana Vickers posters all over Blackburn, but nobody went after Simon Cowell.”
In correspondence between Mr Dyer and the council’s David Baldwin, the council officer claims Skiddle is a beneficiary of the advertising and therefore deemed to have responsibility.
Coun Alan Cottam, executive member for regeneration and environment said he could not comment on individual cases.
He instead outlined the council’s ‘zero tolerance policy’ to fly posting.
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/trade_directory/