SHOPPERS are being urged to be aware after police and trading standards officials seized a stash of counterfeit goods worth £5,000 in Morecambe.

The team swooped on the outdoor market after complaints from local traders, scooping up goods including copied DVDs and CDs, clothes with fake designer labels, perfumes, scarves, handbags and wallets.

Figures show that nationally last year illegal activities by rogue traders cost more than 4,000 jobs and nearly £10 billion.

Chief trading standards officer Jim Potts says: "Traders selling counterfeit goods mislead customers into paying money for products that are of poor quality.

"The sale of fake goods also adversely affects legitimate businesses who lose sales resulting in the cutting of jobs."

Community beat manager PC Neil Pigott says if the products were genuine then the street value would have increased to about £20,000.

"We acted following complaints from local traders. This initiative was a huge success and will be repeated in the near future," he told the Citizen."

Trading standards officers are continuing enquiries and urge anyone who can help them clamp down on counterfeiters to call 0845-6001352.