Harold Hill and Harold Wood have made a shocking entry into the top 20 TV licensing board league of shame.

A staggering 1,566 TV licence evaders were caught out in the RM postcode area, which encompasses Harold, putting it in 18th place in a national league table of the worst 50 areas in the country for licence cheats.

The area's appearance in the top 20 has caused a great deal of concern among local inquiry officers who are appealing for evaders to go out and buy a licence.

Local officers will be accessing information gathered to specifically target addresses in the area.

The publication of the league of shame follows the success of the Christmas campaign, which caught out 30,000 evaders.

New detecting equipment including hand held scanners has enabled inquiry officers to uncover licence dodgers even in high rise flats.

The equipment is sensitive enough to identify what programme is being watched and whether it is terrestrial, satellite, cable or digital TV.

Mick Hill, director of TV licensing, said: "I am disappointed that evaders in the RM area are still flouting the law. All those caught risk a hefty fine and still have to buy a licence as soon as possible.

"With the new technology it means it will be increasingly difficult to watch an unlicensed television without getting caught."

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