7 year ban for Yorkshire registration fraudster

Yorkshire Regional Committee announce Lofthouse verdict

The Yorkshire Regional Committee held specially convened meetings in July and September to consider incidents regarding Lofthouse 2000 Band prior to, during and after the Fourth Section contest at the Yorkshire Brass Band Championships on Saturday 4^th March.

West Yorkshire Police had investigated these incidents which resulted in the identification of the perpetrator who was subsequently issued with a 5 year police caution. (The aforementioned 'incidents' are understood to be the fraudulent cancellation of band member's registrations.)

After full discussion and consideration of these events the committee decided that by his actions the perpetrator had brought both Lofthouse 2000 Band and the Yorkshire Regional Brass Band Championships into disrepute.

Consequently under rule 24 (c) of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain this person has been banned from competing in any regional or finals contest of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain for a period of seven years. The ban to expire on 31^st March 2023.

Furthermore the committee have requested all the appropriate accredited registries to reject any application, by any band, to register this person for the same period of seven years.

Commenting on behalf of the Yorkshire Regional Committee, Peggy Tomlinson, Regional Secretary, said “Unfortunately the perpetrator cannot be identified for legal reasons but the actions were a cause of considerable stress and disruption both to Lofthouse 2000 band and the contest management and are totally unacceptable both to everyone involved in the contest and the banding movement as a whole. We hope these penalties serve as a warning that such actions will not be tolerated. Hopefully we can now put this sorry state of affairs behind us and get back to enjoying our hobby in the true spirit of banding”.

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