South Ayrshire Council News

A 47 year-old Kilwinning man was fined £500 and ordered to do 120 hours community service by Ayr Sheriff Court this week after being found in possession of a haul of counterfeit goods. 

Stephen Gillies McInnes had been picked up in Barassie two days before Christmas, 2006 by local Police who contacted South Ayrshire Council Trading Standards Officers. In his possession was a haul of counterfeit clothes and socks, DVD’s and cigarettes and as a result McInnes pled guilty to various offences under Trade Mark, Trade Descriptions and Video Recordings legislation.

David Thomson, Trading Standards Manager said, “The accused maintained at the time that the fake goods were legitimate Christmas presents but given the quantity and quality of the goods concerned our Officers weren’t convinced. The goods were examined by industry experts and were confirmed to be poor quality copies.”

South Ayrshire Councillor Peter Convery, responsible for Trading Standards issues stated, “The run up to Christmas can be a time when counterfeiters will try to prosper. There is a lot of pressure on us as consumers and parents to buy the latest designer gear or movies on DVD and cheap copies like the ones being sold can be tempting. But I can only reiterate that in common with many of our past seizures of fakes, the standard of these was very poor and would be more of a disappointment on Christmas morning than a welcome gift. The health implications of smoking poor quality counterfeit cigarettes should also be apparent to everyone. Previous tests on other seizures revealed that the cigarettes had far higher levels of carcinogens and nearly twice the amount of tar.”

“Once again I hope this case shows how seriously the Council and the Police view this type of activity and the message is that it a serious crime that affects jobs both locally and nationally. South Ayrshire Trading Standards are committed to combating this illegal trade all year round.”

Trading Standards are keen to hear from anyone who has information on counterfeit goods being sold or manufactured and can be contacted at 5-7 River Terrace, Ayr or on 01292 616403