Car boot trader jailed for selling fake DVDs

A car boot seller caught with up to 6,000 fake DVDs in Staffordshire has been jailed.

Raymond Gillard had been spotted by police and members of Staffordshire's trading standards department at the sale in Eccleshall with a table crammed full of counterfeit discs.

The 35-year-old told officers he had been asked to work for £30 on the day but had initially not realised he was selling fake goods. He said he had taken the job through desperation, saying he was homeless.

Cannock magistrates heard yesterday how the father-of-two, who was giving evidence via video link from Hewell Prison, near Redditch, had been asked to work on the stall, thinking he would be selling clothes.

Mr Khalid Mahmood, prosecuting on behalf of Staffordshire County Council, said that in June council staff and police officers had gone to the sale and spotted the DVDs being put out on the stall.

Mr Mahmood said that Gillard was then arrested.

When questioned, he admitted selling the goods and knowing they were fake, but said he had no part in producing the discs. Gillard, of Brickhill Drive, Birmingham, admitted three counts of possessing goods with a false trade mark for sale, which included the titles 'Immortals', 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close' and '21 Jump Street'.

In mitigation, Mr Sam Christopher said Gillard had realised when he got to the stall they were fake and had admitted the offence at the first opportunity.

It was also disclosed that Gillard was now in prison due to breaching a community order and he was set to be released on September 27 for that offence.

Magistrates sentenced him to eight weeks imprisonment for each offence to run concurrently alongside his current sentence. A confiscation order was also made on all of the DVDs.

Last month, thousands of counterfeit CDs, DVDs and headphones worth more than £180,000 were seized during raids on car boot sales in Staffordshire.

Police and trading standards officers struck in Lichfield, Featherstone and Himley, removing 18,000 counterfeit discs and 16 pairs of fake headphones, worth £140.

Four traders were arrested and bailed in connection with 8,000 counterfeit CDs, DVDs and computer games on sale at Hilton Lane, Featherstone, and in Lichfield,10,000 CDs and DVDs were seized from five stalls.