A TICKET tout who was caught during last year's Reading Festival has been slapped with a huge fine.

Leonard Scott was found guilty in his absence at the magistrates' court on March 9 and ordered to pay a total of £1,191.

Council officers spotted him outside Gorge Café at the junction of Caversham Road and Richfield Avenue on August 27.

Scott, of St Asaph in Wales, was issued a fixed penalty notice of £75.

He failed to pay the penalty and the matter was referred to Reading Magistrates’ Court.

Councillor Sarah Hacker, lead member for Consumer Services, said: “We have a duty to protect the visitors to Reading Festival and cannot allow them to be targeted by unscrupulous individuals like this.

"This successful prosecution will hopefully send out the message to potential touts that this activity will not be tolerated.

“In anticipation of this year’s festival, we are reminding music fans that they should not risk buying Reading Festival tickets from anywhere other than authorised sellers.”

Scott was fined £660, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £66 and legal costs of £465 – a total of £1,191.