Sports retailer fined £7,500 for plastering city centre with illegal posters

JD Sports has been fined £7,500 after admitting it plastered Manchester city centre with illegal posters.

Manchester City Council brought a prosecution against the Bury firm after finding more than 30 posters on street furniture and buildings.

The firm pleaded guilty to fly-posting and said staff had been “re-educated” in the wake of the prosecution.

The council’s environmental crimes team wrote to the company after finding the posters.

The firm admitted responsibility and said it had made staff “aware of what was and was not acceptable”.

JD Sports pleaded guilty to five fly-posting offences and said the employee responsible for the campaign had left the company.

Councillor Rabnawaz Akbar said it was “extremely disappointing” that an “established company chose to ignore the law in this way”.

“It isn’t acceptable to treat the city centre in this way and we will not to hesitate to bring prosecutions to protect our streets,” he added.