MORE than half of all TV licence evaders caught in Southampton last month were rumbled outside working hours as part of a nationwide crackdown.

A total of 139 out of 244 evaders were caught watching the likes of Eastenders and football matches in the early morning, evening and at weekends, new figures show.

They were targeted as part of a nationwide crackdown to target those households which are unlicensed and watching TV for free illegally.

Ron Hand, TV Licensing field operations lead, said: “In order to be fair to the majority who do pay for their licence, we’ll continue to pursue the small minority of people who do not pay. We make sure some of our visits are scheduled when popular programmes such EastEnders are aired or football matches are screened, outside normal working hours.”

In total more than 3,200 evaders were caught the across the South East region last month.

Visits outside traditional working hours are becoming more common to catch those without a licence, which costs £147 a year.

Ben Craig, spokesperson for TV Licensing London and South East, said: “Our officers knock on over 10,000 doors a day - one every five seconds.

“In 2016/17, we caught around 256,600 evaders from all walks of life. Officers can explain payment plans which spread the cost of a licence. We’d always rather help people pay than prosecute and encourage them to contact us for help and advice.

“We offer a variety of ways to spread the cost, including a weekly cash payment plan, a savings card or a monthly Direct Debit scheme, which can be set up very quickly online or over the phone. We also work with almost 500 money advice and community organisations to offer information on when a licence is needed, ways to pay and concessions.”

In a recent survey undertaken by the licensing agency, almost a third of all adults thought it unlikely that anyone watching live TV without a licence would be caught, yet in June alone, 22,000 evaders were caught nationally.

Under UK law, a TV licence is needed if you are watching or recording programmes at the same time as they are shown on TV, or watching BBC programmes on iPlayer. Those prosecuted can be fined up to £1,000.