SHOPPERS were today warned to beware the booming counterfeiting industry which is strengthening its grip on East Lancashire.

Shock figures have revealed that the amount of fake goods seized more than doubled last year.

The confiscation of hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of counterfeit items also led to a rise in prosecutions against dodgy traders.

More than £250,000 worth of goods were seized between May and October 1997, including 9,500 pairs of jeans, 28,500 fake designer labels, 960 knitwear items, watches, computer discs and audio tapes.

Chris Allen, trading standards area manager in East Lancashire, said: "The amount of goods seized increased dramatically and at least doubled.

"The counterfeiting industry has risen sharply over the past two years.

"Blackburn and Darwen is the worst area, but the problem is rife across East Lancashire.

"The quality of the copying is improving all the time. It started with cheap imitation videos and screen printed T-shirts with logos.

"But we are now coming across the genuine article and whether it is Armani jeans or a Dolce and Gabbana jumper, great care is being taken by the counterfeiters to imitate the real thing. "The labels, right down to the washing instructions, are being sent abroad and made up in other countries.

"The finished labels are being imported back to the UK and used in the manufacture of jeans and other items.

"The counterfeiting operation is becoming more sophisticated and shoppers should be vigilant."

Last year more than £30million worth of fake products were seized by officials in the UK, but experts believe the extent of the counterfeit trade could be far bigger, damaging business profits, tax revenue and public safety.

The boom in fake goods has been matched by a switch from being a "cottage industry" into a business involving gangs of professional counterfeiters.

Bogus bonanza on market stalls

AN off-duty trading standards boss went on a shopping trip to Blackburn Market - and ended up seizing more than £400 worth of counterfeit goods.

Chris Allen was browsing among the stalls when he spotted scores of fake items being sold.

Mr Allen, trading standards area manager for East Lancashire, sprang into action to confiscate more than 50 counterfeit bobble hats and several hundred Teletubby key rings and badges from a single stall.

He said: "I had gone to Blackburn to pick up some window blinds from a stall on the market. "The blinds were not ready so I decided to have a walk around the market and use my time more constructively.

"The bobble hats were obviously fake and bore the Adidas and Reebok name. They were being sold for a couple of pounds each.

"There has been a lot of fake Teletubby gear for sale. Every a year a particular toy catches children's imaginations.

"It is not just the toys themselves, there are also lots of products associated with Teletubbies. We have made a number of seizures in recent weeks of anything, from sponges to clothes."

He said inquiries were continuing into the seizure.

A spokesman for Blackburn with Darwen Council said the sale of counterfeit goods was a particular problem in markets

He said: "We will co-operate with the authorities to try and make sure this sort of thing does not happen.

"We sought the help of the trading standards department in the run up to Christmas to try to stop traders selling counterfeit goods."

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