TRADING Standards officers who raided an 'illegal sex shop' discovered explicit videos on sale.

They included films rated R18, which can only be sold in licensed sex shops, and which feature penetrative sex.

Unclassified films, which cannot be sold legally, were also on sale at The Pirate Shop, Darwen Street, Blackburn, during the raid.

Keith Cranny, whose address was given as The Pirate Shop, admitted four charges under the Video Recordings Act 1984 when he appeared before Blackburn magistrates.

The charges related to possession and supply of R18 videos without a licence and possession of an unclassfied video.

He was fined £700 and ordered to pay £300 costs.

Blackburn with Darwen Council executive member for citizen and consumer rights Coun Frank Connor said: "I am pleased with the outcome of this case. It is illegal to sell these videos without a licence and our officers have worked hard to bring this to court." Nobody at the shop, which has constantly annoyed councillors, who believe it is side-stepping licensing laws concerning sex shops, was available to comment.

Two years ago, another employee at the shop was successfully prosecuted for selling X-rated videoes without a licence.

At the time, Blackburn with Darwen Council vowed to find a way to close the business down, claiming it was an illegal sex shop.

The law stipulates that 50per cent of the stock in a shop must be of a sexual nature for the business to have to have a sex shop licence.

Repeated attempts by councils elsewhere in the country to get similar shops closed down have failed.

Now the council has decided to keep monitoring the Pirate Shop.

It is no way connected with The Private Shop, a licensed sex shop also on Darwen Street.