More than £38,000 worth of counterfeit goods seized at Appleby Horse Fair

Yahoo

4 days ago

More than £38,000 worth of counterfeit goods have been seized from this year's Appleby Horse Fair.
The items were found by trading standards officers from Westmorland and Furness Council, supported by Cumbria Police and the Anti-Counterfeiting Group.
Trading Standards focussed their resources on the market traders who were selling products which could potentially pose a safety risk, such as counterfeit sunglasses.
Counterfeit Cartier products (Image: Supplied) Catherine Hornby, trading standards manager at Westmorland and Furness Council, said: "Over £500,000 of unsafe counterfeit goods were seized at last year's fair.
"That the figure is lower this year suggests that the strong, zero-tolerance message that was sent out was heard and understood by the majority of traders on the market fields.
"However, we aren't complacent and we will continue to work with our partners to monitor the market fields at next year's fair and we won't hesitate to take enforcement action against anyone selling unsafe counterfeit goods.
"Unfortunately, consumers are often unaware of the health risks involved in using counterfeit goods, as fake products haven't been put through the same rigorous safety standards that genuine goods have.
"Counterfeit sunglasses offer no ultraviolet protection, leaving the wearer at serious risk of eye damage.
"I would strongly advise members of the public to refrain from buying counterfeit goods.
"Not only that, but by buying counterfeit goods, consumers are supporting illegal and criminal trades."
Counterfeit Prada products (Image: Supplied) The seized sunglasses carried fake branding, including Chanel, Ray-Ban, Celine, Prada, and Cartier.
There was drop in the number of stalls at this year's fair, with 231 in total, including 25 food stalls.
This is down from 268 in 2024 and well below the record high of 276 in 2016.
Superintendent Dan St Quintin, Cumbria Police gold commander for Appleby Horse Fair 2024, said: "Cumbria Police officers worked in support of Trading Standards as part of our work to help keep people safe – in this case through targeting people selling potentially unsafe goods.
"This activity is part of the multi-agency partnership approach which we will continue at future Appleby Horse Fairs."
Phil Lewis, director general of The Anti-Counterfeiting Group, said: 'We highly commend Westmorland and Furness Council Trading Standards team for their commitment to protecting consumers by removing counterfeit and potentially dangerous goods from this high profile event.
"The trade in fakes attacks the integrity of legitimate businesses and funds further criminality.
"We urge consumers to play a crucial role in combating this trade by making informed purchasing decisions to protect their families."
Anyone with information about the sale of counterfeit items is urged to contact Trading Standards via the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133, or the police on 101.
Alternatively, reports can be made anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.