WHAT'S THE STORY?

Touts leave fans gutted as they hoover up the last-minute Oasis tickets meant for the diehards who missed out

- BY MARK McGIVERN

TOUTS have sickened Oasis fans by hoovering up hundreds of last-minute tickets for their Scottish gigs.

The band released a final tranche for the three Murrayfield gigs that start tonight, with buyers required to sign up via Ticketmaster after losing out in the big sale last year.

But sophisticated touts illegally used multiple identities to impersonate fans and have squeezed out the genuine Oasis fans trying to get their hands on the precious tickets.

Reg Walker, the UK's top ticket fraud investigator, has revealed that tout-to-tout forums have been engaging in furious last-minute business - with some touts each getting their hands on more than 30 codes that give access to late release tickets.

Walker said: “It's normal for promoters to keep last minute tickets - ‘production holds’ - and these can be a godsend for the most devoted fans to get access to tickets at face value.

“The problem is that the touts prepare for all this in advance and use their computers to defeat online security and get ahead of the online queues.

“I am aware of one trader selling off codes for more than 30 last-minute Oasis tickets.

“The tout is brazenly breaking every term and condition that is designed to protect fans - and breaching UK laws that have previously been used to jail touts.