Ed Sheeran’s manager welcomes Norfolk ticket tout verdict

Stuart Camp said: “We want to keep ticket prices accessible for as many people as possible and hope to get everyone a good seat at a fair price. 

“This prosecution sets an important precedent in the live entertainment industry that I hope will be celebrated by live music fans.”

Tickets to see the Ed Sheeran stadium tour in 2018 were among those resold by the touting operation (Image: PA)

Lynda Chenery and Mark Woods were found guilty on Wednesday of fraudulent activity over their involvement in “dishonest” Diss-based touting firm TQ Tickets Ltd, which sold tickets worth more than £6.5m over two-and-a-half years.

READ MORE: Two guilty over £6.5m Norfolk ticket touting operation

Maria Chenery-Woods – who is Woods’s wife and Chenery’s sister – and Chenery’s ex-husband Paul Douglas had earlier pleaded guilty to the offences.

The operation used multiple identities, some fake, to buy up large numbers of tickets on primary sites like Ticketmaster and resold them at inflated prices on secondary sites such as Viagogo.

Tickets included concerts by the likes of Ed Sheeran, Lady Gaga and Little Mix - as well as events like Strictly Come Dancing and West End shows.

Little Mix tickets were among those bought to be sold at vastly inflated prices (Image: Newsquest)

During the trial the jury also heard from Ed Sheeran’s promoter Stuart Galbraith about the “extensive measures” they went to as they tried to prevent the re-selling of tickets for the Suffolk singer’s 2018 UK stadium tour.

Welcoming the convictions, he said: “The verdict is good news for live music fans, who are too often ripped off and exploited by greedy ticket touts.”

READ MORE: Ed Sheeran tried to beat 'Norfolk ticket touting operation'

READ MORE: Ticket touting operation run from Norfolk 'mocked customers'

Mr Camp added: “Ed Sheeran’s 2018 summer stadium tour was when we really took a stand against online ticket touts. 

“The low point for me had been one of his earlier Teenage Cancer Trust concerts, where tickets were listed on Viagogo for thousands of pounds, but with none of the money going to charity.”

Lord Michael Bichard hopes the case would mark a 'step-change in the secondary ticketing market' (Image: National Trading Standards)

Lord Michael Bichard, chair of National Trading Standards, said he hoped the case would mark a “step-change in the secondary ticketing market”.

“Millions of people spend their hard-earned money on tickets for music concerts and sporting events each year,” he said.

“Buying a ticket in good faith and then discovering it is part of a fraudulent scam can be deeply distressing and can have a considerable financial impact on consumers.”