A MAN who sold counterfeit goods online has been sentenced following a prosecution by trading standards officials.

Christopher Dempster, of Linton Rise, Catterick Garrison, pleaded guilty at Northallerton Magistrates' Court on Tuesday to 14 charges under the Trade Marks Act 1994.

Trading standards officers from North Yorkshire County Council found that Dempster was advertising fake clothing, bags and shoes via a Facebook group in October 2015.

A council spokesman said: "An officer used a covert identity to contact Dempster and buy an Adidas branded T-shirt. Officers later carried out a raid at Dempster’s house, where they recovered 84 pieces of counterfeit clothing, including items branded as Adidas, Converse, Hugo Boss, Michael Kors, Nike, Ralph Lauren, Timberland and Ugg."

Dempster was sentenced to 100 hours of unpaid work, given a rehabilitation order and told to pay investigation costs. He had already surrendered the fake items.

York Press:

Cllr Chris Metcalfe, the county council's executive member for trading standards, said: “This sort of selling damages high street shops and legitimate online retailers in North Yorkshire.

"Selling fakes on social media may seem like an easy way to make some money, but this case shows that the stakes are very high. Trading standards officers monitor the sale of goods on social media and investigate the many complaints they receive about fake items. My advice to anyone thinking about selling fakes is simply ‘don’t do it’.”

Trading standards officers warn that they will be looking out for anyone selling counterfeits in the run-up to Christmas and they encourage anyone who sees suspicious items for sale on social media or elsewhere to report it via the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 040506.