The "Amazon" of ticket touting operated from a leased office at a sixth form college, a court has heard. The website in question, Seatfinder UK, was reportedly set up by a former employee of Liverpool FC's ticket office, who is said to have colluded with touts to resell tickets for games at Anfield Stadium "at significantly inflated prices", and his associates.

This allegedly fraudulent scheme is said to have spanned several years and involved the creation of more than 1,000 LFC memberships using fake names and details, potentially generating hundreds of thousands of pounds in profits. Having established their own online platform despite their supposed contacts inside the club were sacked, the syndicate went on to operate on an "international scale", being compared to a "supermarket chain for unauthorised football ticket resales".

Five men and two women went on trial at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday, Wednesday, accused of being part of the conspiracy. Nicola Daley told a jury of seven men and five women during the prosecution's opening: "In simple terms, each of the defendants on trial before you...