Wimbledon ticket theft arrests

Tennis fans queue for hours to get Wimbledon tickets

Two postmen have been arrested on suspicion of stealing Wimbledon tickets and trying to sell them outside the courts.

Police discovered that tickets being touted outside Court One at the All England Championships were stolen and believe they were intercepted in the post.

Further investigations have discovered more stolen mail at two addresses in Worthing, Sussex. The Post Office Investigations Unit has taken over the inquiry.

Two Consignia employees, both aged 25, have been arrested and released on bail until 8 August.

Fans secure their place in the queue

Consignia has confirmed the men were suspended last week.

A spokesman said: "We cannot comment further other than to say that two postmen have been suspended pending further investigations.

"Our priority is to investigate these claims."

Consignia would not confirm the pair's identities, how long they had worked at the company or whether they had been suspended on full pay.

Wimbledon tickets are fetching hundreds of pounds on the black market.

Ticket touting

Police cautioned ten people for ticket touting in the first four days of the tournament.

Most tickets for the main Wimbledon courts - Centre Court and Court One - are allocated by the heavily over-subscribed public ballot.

Applications are received by the end of the previous year and the successful candidates are notified in February and March.

But Wimbledon is one of the few major sporting events that also has tickets for sale on the day and fans queue for hours for the remaining show court tickets.