A CHESHIRE pub landlady showed football matches without permission from Sky in a “desperate” bid to get customers.
Robyn Shepherd, 27, of The Marquis, Gleneagles Road, Great Sutton was convicted of showing two games without paying a subscription.
A pregnant Shepherd had originally pleaded not guilty before entering a guilty plea on the day of her trial on Monday at Chester Magistrates Court.
But after she insisted she was on holiday at the time of the offences, magsitrates would not accept Shepherd’s plea and ordered her to seek the help of a solicitor.
Fighting back tears, she added: “I changed my plea because I didn’t want to put myself and my baby through a trial.”
Shepherd said she could not afford to pay the subscription, adding: “That’s the only reason the first offence was committed.
“Customers were going elsewhere. I was just desperate, trying to get customers, get money in the tills.”
She eventually admitted dishonestly receiving a Sky TV broadcast with intent to avoid payment for two games, for Stoke City v Watford Town on December 9 2007 and Arsenal v Manchester United on April 13 2008.
Chair of the bench Elizabeth Michie fined Shepherd £100 and ordered her to pay £400 costs.
