A 'HARD-working' and 'diligent' Nelson shopkeeper has been given a six-month conditional discharge after pleading guilty to hiring out counterfeit Bollywood films from his store.

Mohammed Asghar, 38, of Every Street, admitted three charges of unauthorised use of a trademark when he appeared at Burnley Crown Court yesterday.

The case was brought by Lancashire County Council's trading standards department which raided Asghar's store in Every Street in May 2004, where they found the fake videos.

Titles, including Bollywood hits Josh, Eilan and Jambaz, were seized and sent off for analysis where they were found to be fakes.

Ben Morris, defending, said: "These videos were not hot-off-the-press Hollywood blockbusters, they were material which had been shown on TV and which was widely available.

"This man is not a criminal.

"He works in the shop until 11 o'clock at night and works very hard.

"He relied on the good faith of his supplier, and he is not the only one making mistakes in this field."

Judge Beverley Lunt sentenced Asghar to a six-month conditional discharge and ordered him to pay £250 costs.

She said: "You are a hard-working and diligent businessman, but this was a bad error of judgement."