ORGANISERS of car boot sales in the region say new proposals designed to curb the boom in criminal gangs selling fake goods are unworkable.

The reaction comes after details emerged of a proposed Occasional Sales Bill, aimed at regulating the industry.

The Bill, put forward by John Whittingdale MP, chairman of the House of Commons' culture, media and sport committee, proposes a £5,000 fine and up to six months in prison for organisers who allow the sale of counterfeit goods at their event.

It also proposes a formal register of sellers, which means anyone wishing to take part in a car boot sale would have to register their details 21 days in advance.

But Richard Stanton, sale organiser for Sedgefield Racecourse, in County Durham, said: "It just wouldn't work.

"I get people ringing me up the night before saying they want to sell. You can't ask people to register that long in advance. Everyone will stop coming."

Sales of fake DVDs, CDs and other goods are thought to net £9bn a year in the UK and cost £2bn in lost tax revenue.

According to insurance company Prudential, Britons collectively spend £1.46bn a year buying second-hand goods at car boot sales and nearly two thirds of people have been to a sale at least once.

It is estimated that 10.5 million people have had a stall at one of these events.

Mr Stanton said: "I signed a pact with other organisers in Durham saying we will police our sales.

"If anyone was selling counterfeits, we would tell them to pack up and leave and we would pass their details to trading standards."

Jackie Taylor, organiser for the sales in Saltburn's Somerfield car park, in east Cleveland, said many sellers decide to come based on last-minute factors such as the weather:

He said: "People usually book three or four days in advance and a few book at the last-minute. It would be sad if people couldn't come because they hadn't registered.

"We keep a close watch on sellers. If I felt there was someone dealing illegal goods, I would call the police."