This is the moment a teenage Britain’s Got Talent hopeful was arrested and faced a fine by police for busking.
Charlie Wilson, 17, was cuffed by a police officer and threatened with a £1,000 fine while he was busking in the town centre of Bury, Greater Manchester.
Shocking police bodycam footage shows the officer demanding the teenager pack up his equipment as he was breaching a Public Spaces Protection Order by using an amplified speaker.
Mr Wilson, who had been singing Dani and Lizzy’s Dancing in the Sky, tries to argue his case but is told he will be arrested if he continues.
He pleads: ‘Everyone’s enjoying it, man, what’s the need?’
The busker appears to be packing up his equipment as the officer repeatedly asks him for his name, but he is then arrest and handcuffed after refusing.
PC Richard Holland then says: ‘I don’t want to have to, but if you’re not telling me your name I will lock you up for it.
‘I tried to deal with you nicely, I told you many, many times how we can deal with this nicely.’
Charlie Wilson, 17, was cuffed by a police officer and was threatened with a £1,000 fine while he was busking in the town centre of Bury, Greater Manchester
The busker appears to be packing up his equipment as the officer repeatedly asks him for his name but as he reuses he is then arrest and handcuffed
The aspiring singer has travelled down to London for an in-person audition for an upcoming series of Britain’s Got Talent, where he sung Radiohead’s Creep in front of the show’s producers.
The shocked audience slammed the police for their ‘excessive’ response.
One had told the youngster he ‘made her little girl’s day’, while another said ‘he’s not committing a crime’.
An outraged passer-by can be heard on the video saying ‘This is not right, this is so excessive’, as two other police officers come to accompany the arresting officer.
A Public Spaces Protection Order, or PSPO, implemented by Bury Council prohibits the use of amplifiers anywhere within the town’s ring road.
Charlie is de-arrested after giving his name and address to the constable a few minutes later.
Since his arrest, Charlie has received a letter from Bury Council giving him ‘formal notification’ to ‘refrain from engaging in further anti-social behaviour’.
Speaking after the incident, Charlie said: ‘I knew you could get a fine, that’s why I was a bit hesitant to give him my information like my name and address.
‘I was concerned that he was going to use that to take me to court and use all the money I’d saved up.
Since the incident, Charlie has travelled down to London for an in-person audition for an upcoming series of Britain’s Got Talent, where he sung Radiohead’s Creep in front of the show’s producers
‘There was no disrespect on my behalf.’
He added: ‘I was scared, I’m not a bad kid. I’ve never had any experience like that.
‘It was embarrassing for me as a singer – people were watching, if they see that they’re going to think the worst.’
Greater Manchester Police’s superintendent Phil Spurgeon have met with Charlie and his mother Joanne Leach to discuss the incident.
In an email following the meeting, the superintendent writes: ‘The officer accepted my view that they could have used discretion for this matter.
‘While the officer maintains they were exercising lawful powers, my view is that their actions were not proportionate or necessary in terms of threat, harm and risk to the public.
‘As we discussed in our meeting however, that does not give a ‘green light’ to Charlie to continue busking in Bury town centre.’
A Greater Manchester Police press office spokesperson said: ‘At around 2.25pm on 24 August 2025, GMP officers on a targeted operation in Bury town centre tackling crime and anti-social behaviour arrested a 17-year-old boy on suspicion of breach of Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO).
‘He was de-arrested shortly after.’
Bury Council declined to issue a full statement, but a spokesperson said the PSPO is due for review in 2026.
