A PUB owner has been ordered to pay thousands of pounds for showing Sky Sports illegally.

Bosses at The Hoolet’s in Blantyre will pay £10,000 in damages, plus interest, for infringing Sky’s copyright.

It comes after successful legal action was taken by the company.

Sky says it is committed to visiting every licensed premise reported by other pub owners or organisations for illegally showing Sky.

It has arranged to visit hundreds of pubs each week in towns and cities across the UK.

Sara Stewart, commercial compliance lead at Sky, said: “Now more than ever it’s important to protect the investment of our customers.

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"Businesses that show Sky Sports illegally can leave our legitimate Sky subscribers feeling short-changed.

“We actively visit thousands of pubs every season to monitor the games they are showing to help protect hardworking Sky customers who are unfairly losing business due to this illegal activity.

“Venues who continue to televise content in this way are breaking the law, and are at risk of being caught, which can result in licensees being ordered to pay significant damages and legal costs to Sky, and/or losing their personal licence.”