Bradford Elvis tribute act fined £9,000 for being 'too loud'
An Elvis tribute act has been fined more than £9,000 after neighbours complained about his late-night songs.
Dean Holland, 45, regularly performs to fans over the internet from his home in Bradford, West Yorkshire, many of whom are in the United States. He was served with a noise abatement notice by Bradford council, but flouted the order and was summoned to court. Mr Holland and partner Katie Mooney were fined £4,688 each in their absence by Bradford magistrates. It amounted to a total of £9,376, made up of fines for five offences each, court costs and a victim surcharge. The singer told the BBC he performs to a US audience, which leads to him often singing in the early hours due to the time difference. Mr Holland claimed he was being persecuted over his singing, which he insisted was not even that loud. "I don't do it every night, I might do it like twice a week, three times a week," he said. "I have sung at 11pm, midnight and 1am, but it's not banging out and it's not like grunge music or AC/DC or anything like that." Mr Holland moved into the semi-detached house in Southmere Drive, Great Horton, with Katie Mooney in February but said they have now been ordered to leave. The couple had electrical equipment confiscated by officials, including two TVs, a jukebox, speakers and DJ equipment on 17 May, when Bradford Magistrates' Court granted a warrant to seize noise-making equipment from their home. The singer, originally from Leeds, said he has worked as a tribute act for 11 years and regularly performs at charity events free of charge. Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk.