Christmas carol spectacular
THE Mayor of Tamworth’s free ‘Merry Christmas Carol Spectacular’ nights take place at the town’s parish church next week.
John Harper is inviting residents to the back to back events at St Editha’s Church a week tomorrow night, Friday, December 15, and Saturday, December 16, at 6.30pm.
The services will be a traditional mix of everyone’s favourite carols and will include contributions from local schoolchildren and the church choir.
Rev. Andrew Lythall, Vicar of Tamworth, will give an atmospheric reading of the famous poem ‘Twas The Night Before Christmas’, and other festive surprises are also planned.
Cllr Harper said: “The aim is to brighten up winter’s gloom by giving the local people an opportunity to sing our best-known carols amid the ancient splendour of our magnificent parish church.
“We can’t guarantee snow, but the church will be beautifully floodlit and all the Christmas elements will be there – including Santa
Claus!
“The main emphasis is to have a good old seasonal sing-along. I can’t think of a more uplifting way to get into the festive spirit and celebrate the joy of Christmas.”
A FARE dodger who posted tips on Tiktok about how to avoid paying for train journeys has been caught and fined more than £700.
The woman, who has not been named, made social media videos boasting about not buying rail tickets and urged her followers to do the same.
But her videos have now landed her a criminal record after police and train operators tracked her down and prosecuted her under the Regulation of Railways Act. The fraudulent traveller recorded numerous clips of herself talking about dodging fares in Tamworth,
Derby, Burton-upon-trent and Crewe.
She urged viewers to sit near toilets to be able to quickly hide from ticket inspectors, pretend their phone had died or buy a ticket for a cheaper, and nearer, stop. The woman also bragged about how she never paid full price to travel and regularly did not buy a ticket at all.
She also suggests pretending to have missed your stop and added: “Overall, if you get smart with it there’s a couple of ways to beat the train company. I would highly advise anybody not to pay.”
She was prosecuted for fraud and fined £773 following a joint investigation by East Midlands Railway (EMR) and British Transport Police (BTP) last month.
PC Lisa Scott-savage, of British Transport Police, said: “We’re extremely pleased with the result in this case, which highlights the price of evading fares - hefty fines and a criminal record.
“It is the legitimate fare paying passengers who end up bearing the brunt of the cost of the dishonest people who think they can get away without paying.”