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Tuesday, 21 August, 2001, 17:19 GMT 18:19 UK
Fakes seized at boot sale
Car boot sale
Bargains bought at car boot sales could be counterfeit.
Goods seized by trading standards officers at car boot sales in Wiltshire have been confirmed as fakes.

Following complaints, officers twice went to sales at The Old Dairy Farm, Dauntsey.

With the assistance of police, they seized a variety of items including CDs, videos and computer games.

They also took away "designer" baseball caps and sunglasses.

Items were sent away for examination to determine whether or not they were genuine.

Reports have now been received by the county council's trading standards department which confirm that the majority of items seized were counterfeit.

Two people will be questioned by officers investigating possible offences under the Trade Marks Act and the Trade Descriptions Act.

Baseball caps

"Most of the goods involved were music CDs with covers photocopied from the originals," said Yvonne Bennett, area trading standards officer for north and west Wiltshire.

"Other goods seized were 'Playstation' games, 'Dreamcast' games, designer-named baseball caps and sunglasses and 'Adidas' socks," she said.

Clothing was sent for checking to the relevant distributors, she said.

Videos and computer games were examined by trade associations such as the European Leisure Software Publishers Association (Elspa).

a car boot sale
The public have been asked to report suspect goods.

Wiltshire trading standards service is asking members of the public to get in touch if they suspect counterfeit items might be on sale at other places in the county.

Ms Bennett said the government was encouraging more regulation of car boot sales.

"These sales started with ordinary people selling off their unwanted items but now there are more and more traders," she said.

Mendip Council in Somerset recently approved a scheme to introduce licensing of car boot sales.

See also:

31 May 00 | Scotland
Fake clothes man in court
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