Some of the seized "England" gear. Photographs courtesy The Sentinel.

World Cup fakes kicked into touch

Plans to rip-off England World Cup fans travelling to Germany were foiled when Trading Standards Officers from Staffordshire County Council raided a house in Newcastle-under-Lyme and seized hundreds of fake polo shirts and other World Cup merchandise.

The raid was a joint operation with Staffordshire Police and sportswear makers Umbro, who supply official merchandise.

Sandra Hambleton, Staffordshire County Council's Cabinet Support Member for Trading Standards said: "This raid is the result of many hours careful work after fake shirts were found on sale on the Internet.

"Fans from the Staffordshire area were being targeted with counterfeit goods. The fake items that were seized are an attempt to defraud the true England fans travelling to Germany, to steal from the producers of the genuine products and to put local sports shops out of business. I am pleased we have been to stop the sellers from taking these fakes to Germany and ripping off our fans."

A spokesman from Umbro, which holds the trademark for genuine England World Cup clothing, said, "We are grateful for the help from Staffordshire County Council in dealing with this fraud. These shirts were being sold over the Internet but they are not genuine items and they do not support the sports goods industry or the England team."

Other counterfeit goods seized included fake branded training shoes and designer underwear.

Page Last Modified: 30/01/2007 16:05:02

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