Moment Britain’s Got Talent hopeful, 17, is arrested by police and fined £1,000 for busking
This is the moment a young Britain’s Got Talent hopeful was arrested and faced a police fine for busking.
Charlie Wilson, 17, was handcuffed by a police officer and threatened with a £1,000 fine while busking in Bury city centre, Greater Manchester.
Shocking police body camera footage shows the officer, who breached the Public Spaces Protection Order using an amplified loudspeaker, demanding the teenager collect his equipment.
Mr Wilson, who sings Dani and Lizzy’s Dancing in the Sky, tries to plead his case but is told he will be arrested if he continues.
He begs: ‘Everyone’s enjoying it, man, what’s the need?’
The busker appears to be packing his equipment as the officer repeatedly asks his name, but after he refuses he is arrested and handcuffed.
PC Richard Holland later said: ‘I don’t want to have to do this but if you don’t tell me your name I’ll have you jailed for it.
‘I tried to deal with you nicely, I told you many times how we could handle this nicely.’
Charlie Wilson, 17, was handcuffed by a police officer and threatened with a £1,000 fine while busking in Bury city centre, Manchester.
The busker appears to be packing up his equipment as the officer repeatedly asks him his name, but when he uses it again he is arrested and handcuffed
The aspiring singer traveled to London for a personal audition for Britain’s Got Talent, where she sang Radiohead’s Creep in front of the show’s producers.
Stunned spectators criticized police for their ‘over-reaction’.
While one told the young man he had ‘made his little daughter’s day’, another said he was ‘not committing a crime’.
In the video, an angry passerby can be heard saying, “This is not right, this is outrageous,” while two other police officers accompany the officer who arrested him.
The Public Places Protection Order, or PSPO, imposed by Bury Council bans the use of amplifiers anywhere within the town’s ring road.
Moments later, Charlie is arrested after giving his name and address to the police officer.
Since his arrest, Charlie has received a letter from Bury Council giving him ‘formal notice’ to ‘refrain from committing any further anti-social behaviour’.
Speaking after the incident, Charlie said: ‘I knew he could be punished, so I was a bit hesitant to give him my information such as my name and address.
‘I was worried he would use this to take me to court and use all the money I had saved.
Since the incident, Charlie has traveled to London for a personal audition for the upcoming series of Britain’s Got Talent, where he sang Radiohead’s Creep in front of the show’s producers.
‘My name was not disrespected.’
He added: ‘I was scared, I’m not a bad boy. I’ve never had such an experience.
‘It was embarrassing for me as a singer; People were watching, if they saw they would think the worst.’
Greater Manchester Police chief constable Phil Spurgeon met with Charlie and his mother Joanne Leach to discuss the incident.
In an email sent after the meeting, the inspector writes: ‘The officer accepted my view that they could use discretion in this matter.
‘Whilst the officer claimed that they were exercising their legal powers, my view is that their actions were not proportionate or necessary in terms of creating a threat, harm or risk to the public.
‘However, as we discussed at our meeting, this does not give Charlie the ‘green light’ to continue busking in Bury town centre.’
A Greater Manchester Police press office spokesman said: ‘At around 2.25pm on 24 August 2025, GMP officers on a targeted operation tackling crime and anti-social behavior in Bury city center arrested a 17-year-old boy on suspicion of breaching the Public Places Protection Order (PSPO).
‘He was arrested a short time later.’
Bury Council refused to make a full statement, but a spokesman said the PSPO would be reviewed in 2026.
