Police error sees Great Lumley balloon launch teen fined twice

Tyler James said he tried to cancel the balloon launch he had organised but a large crowd still gathered

A teenager who paid a £400 fine after organising a memorial balloon launch has been hit with a fresh £10,000 penalty following a police blunder.

Tyler James, 19, organised the event on 11 April in memory of his 17-year-old friend Jamie McKitten who died in March and about 200 people turned up.

Mr James said he crowd-funded to pay the initial fine but will have to go to court to contest the larger amount.

Durham Police blamed an administrative error for issuing the first wrong fine.

Jamie McKitten died in March aged 17

Mr James told the BBC he tried to cancel the launch after speaking to police but a large crowd had gathered at Great Lumley.

He said: "I told everyone it was cancelled but it was rammed, there was nothing I could have done."

Mr James said he felt "targeted" as he claimed police attended other balloon launches around the country with no fines issued.

A Durham Police spokeswoman said: "Officers issued the organiser of this event with a £10,000 fixed penalty notice (FPN) in line with government guidelines after it went ahead, despite our advice that it would breach Covid restrictions.

"Unfortunately, due to an administrative error by the national police unit which manages FPNs on behalf of police forces, the incorrect penalty details were initially sent to the event organiser.

"Our approach throughout the pandemic has been to help the public follow the restrictions by engaging, explaining, and encouraging, and only turning to enforcement as a last resort."