It's no secret that thousands of UK homes now rely on free streams to watch premium content from the comfort of their sofa. With the cost of living crisis still hurting pockets, many are looking for ways to avoid paying firms - such as Sky - for their content. It's now a booming industry but it has not gone unnoticed by the UK authorities.

Crackdowns on illegal streaming have been taking place throughout the year and now there's a fresh block on viewing content without paying a subscription.

Officers from the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) at City of London Police have just executed a search warrant at a residential address in Wolverhampton.

During the operation, a 38-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of copyright and money laundering offences, after he was suspected to have sold illegal streaming packages for others to sell to the public.

These bundles included illegal access to Sky channels such as Sports, Entertainment and Cinema but those who may have signed up could find they are left with a blank screen.

The Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit says that further search warrants were carried out at four business addresses in Wolverhampton and Coventry. Officers seized a server, which was used to host the illegal streaming service, at one of the addresses and the service was shut down.

Speaking about the raids, Detective Constable Daryl Fryatt, from the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) at City of London Police, said: "Illegal streaming is a huge issue for the entertainment and creative industries and, while it may seem like a low-risk, high-reward crime, the proceeds are used to fund other serious forms of criminal activity. At the same time, it can expose end users to the risks of data theft, fraud and malware.

“The message of this operation is clear: if you sell illegal streaming services, you will be caught and held to account for your actions."

And Matt Hibbert, Group Director of Anti-Piracy at Sky, added: "When people illegally stream they provide their personal information to criminals and the risks that result are very real.

"We are grateful to the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit for leading this action.

"We’ll continue to do everything we can to protect our content from theft, and to help keep consumers safe."