Men sold Grand Prix 'forgeries'

The men were arrested selling tickets at Silverstone

Two men were caught selling forged tickets at last year's sell-out British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Northampton Crown Court has heard.

Sean Barrago, 33, and Paul Skinner, 41, both from Manchester, were selling the fakes in July, the jury was told.

Mr Barrago, of Helmshore Walk, and Mr Skinner, of Rochdale Road, both deny one count of possessing articles for the use of fraud.

The court heard the two were found with bags containing 399 tickets in batches.

Police and Silverstone's own legal director David Thomson examined the tickets and found they had wrongly-coloured stubs, unclear writing, and back-to-front holograms.

The court heard booking references on the fakes matched other Silverstone purchases, such as driving experiences, rather than Grand Prix tickets.

I didn't think anything about the legitimacy of the tickets, I just thought it was good value Sean Barrago

Maryam Syed, prosecuting, said that as part of a police operation to stop ticket touts, officers received information about Mr Barrago and Mr Skinner on the day of the Grand Prix.

They found the men at Silverstone, standing near a black Mercedes vehicle.

In the boot were two bags containing envelopes of 399 tickets - later found to be fakes. Both men also had a large amount of cash on them.

Both Mr Skinner and Mr Barrago denied knowing the tickets were fakes. Mr Barrago said they were sold the tickets by another man, and thought they were genuine.

"I thought it was a good deal. I didn't think anything about the legitimacy of the tickets, I just thought it was good value," he said.

Mr Skinner told the court he was an experienced ticket tout who travelled the world buying and selling tickets and merchandise to sporting events, concerts and festivals.

He said: "I'm a ticket tout, what's wrong with that? I was there to sell tickets and take pictures."

The case was adjourned until Friday morning.