Biggest car boot in North Wales raided by police and Trading Standards
Police and Trading Standards officers this morning raided the biggest car boot sale in North Wales (Sunday, August 10). A number of items were seized during the operation at Chirk airfield, Wrexham.
These included a transit van that had travelled to the 'giant' Chirk car boot sale without insurance. The operation was led by Wrexham Trading Standards, whose officers checked vendor pitches for illicit items.
A car boot sale has been held on the airfield for the last 27 years. It has grown to become one of the region's largest, attracting sellers and buyers from across North Wales, Shropshire, Cheshire and the Wirral.
Earlier this year the car boot sale was scored by the AA as the 19th best in Britain based on reviews, search volumes and Facebook followers. At the time the AA said that, in a cost-of-living crisis, car boot sales were 'cool again' – it cited monthly 201,000 Google searches for 'car boot near me'.
At this morning's operation, North Wales Police (NWP) were represented by two officers from the force's Wrexham Rural team.
A team spokesperson said: 'Whilst they were conducting checks and seizing items, PC 3590 searched a linked vehicle under Section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act.
'The vehicle was found to have no insurance and was seized off the site.' The North Wales Live Whatsapp community for top stories and breaking news is live now - here's how to sign up
Police and trading standards operations have been periodically carried at Chirk and other car boot sales over the years.
Convictions have previously been secured for vendors selling items such as counterfeit clothing and knock-off DVDs. Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox
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