WORCESTER has the most television licence dodgers in the county.

More than 700 people were caught watching television without a valid licence in 2006, a figure which places the city once again at the top of the TV Licensing's League of Shame.

The new figures, released yesterday, also reveal that more than 300 people were caught in Kidderminster compared with 160 in Malvern.

Mark Whitehouse, spokesman for TV Licensing West Midlands, said: "The number of evaders caught in Worcester remained high in 2006 - but still being in this losers' league is certainly nothing to be proud of.

"We are making it harder for people to avoid paying for their licence, we are committed to ensure that no one is watching television illegally and that everyone is aware of the consequences of not being properly licensed.

"We appreciate that there are some people who genuinely struggle to pay the licence fee and that's why we offer so many flexible payment options, including paying over-the-counter at any of the more than 16,000 Paypoint outlets across the UK, so there really is no excuse for breaking the law."

Nationwide, nearly 400,000 licence evaders were caught out last year.

For information on the concessions available and ways to pay call 0870 241 5590 or visit www.tvlicensing.co.uk/info.

Number caught in Worcester: 756

Number caught in Redditch: 669

Number caught in Kidderminster: 335

Number caught in Bromsgrove: 189

Number caught in Malvern: 160