INVESTIGATIONS are under way in Portugal after St Helens Trading Standards Officers dealt counterfeiters a major blow, uncovering 840 pairs of fake top fashion footwear, with a high street value of more than £120,000.

The property was seized from a warehouse in Newton-le-Willows by the Council officers working alongside police and customs officials.

They foiled an attempt by a Portuguese businessman to flood the North West with counterfeit boots and training shoes.

Lacoste and Rockport - whose products had been imitated - have now sent investigators to Portugal to try to trace the origins of the counterfeit goods. Bound for Liverpool and Manchester, the footwear would have been distributed and sold across the region. Although identical in appearance to the genuine items, the quality of the goods was well below well-known brands.

Stitching had been replaced by glue and the leather was so weak that without the paper packaging in the box, the sides of the footwear would have collapsed and lost shape. Wearing such poor quality boots and shoes would have proved harmful to the wearer.

Councillor Terry Hanley, Cabinet Member for Environmental Protection, said: "This type of crime is intended to con the public into believing they are purchasing the genuine article.

"The goods are packaged and labelled in such a way that visually, a prospective purchaser may struggle to detect that they are fake. Only when the footwear is worn is the true extent of the inferior quality apparent."