A CLAMPDOWN has been launched to tackle the trade in stolen goods through second-hand shops.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has teamed up with the police to drive down the market in stolen items.

Crime prevention officers are visiting second-hand shops in the borough reminding owners they need a licence to trade in used goods following concerns about stolen goods being "fenced" through the shops.

The one-off licence costs £121 and is available from the council. Council officers have offered traders who do not have a licence an amnesty until January to give them time to get one.

Temporary "Christmas special" shops that open briefly in the run-up to Christmas selling festive items before disappearing in the new year have been told to get a licence.

The licence was brought in in 1984 but has not been strictly policed in the past.

Sergeant Mick Thornber, of Blackburn police, said: "We last had a similar drive about 18 months ago and we felt it was time to have another drive to reduce the trade.

"The majority of second hand shop owners take goods in good faith and we don't have a problem with them but there are an unscrupulous few who take items they know or suspect are stolen."

Traders who knowingly deal in stolen goods will not only face criminal proceedings but also face losing their licence. But bona fide trader John Vaughan, who runs the Blackburn Record Exchange, Higher Church Street, said: "I don't think it will be a deterrent in putting off trade in stolen goods. What I want to know is what we get for this £121.

"I want to upgrade my CCTV security system but I'll have to put that on hold. What's more important, catching thieves on camera or having to pay for this licence?"

John, who deals in new and second-hand music and hi-fi equipment, does not have a licence.

"I didn't know you had to have one until two police officers came round to speak to me about it," he said.

"This just came out of the blue. It's a lot of money to pay but if I have to pay it I will.

"We always co-operate fully with the police. I'm aware of the state of the thieving that goes on in town and the large amount of stolen goods that is floating about.

"I've never knowingly bought stolen goods but you can buy it in good faith and be an innocent party."