TRADING Standards officials have achieved a landmark ruling that will have an impact all over the country after prosecuting a car boot sale boss.

George Banks, who runs the Redcar Racecourse event, was fined £6,000 for allowing counterfeit goods to be sold at his event.

Officers described the site as over-run with fake goods and said they did not have the resources to be able to check every event.

The case was brought before Teesside Magistrates Court following a surveillance operation.

Trading Standards at Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council received numerous complaints of fake CDs, DVDs and videos at the May 2003 sale.

Police and council officers raided the sale and seized computer equipment and discs on November 2, 2003.

Mr Banks, 54, of Ouston, Chester-le-Street, was found guilty of aiding and abetting 24 specimen counts of copyright and trade mark offences.

According to his solicitor George Tilley, Banks has now improved measures to stop illegal activities.

Judge Stephen Earl fined the businessman £250 for each specimen offence and also ordered him to pay £2,000 towards Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's costs.

Chief Trading Standards Officer Jeff Bell said: "This is a very important result for trading standards and the rule of law nationwide.

"No longer will operators or site owners of car boot fairs be able to wash their hands of the illegal counterfeiting activities that go on at their sites."

Following the verdict, Mr Bell said: "As fast as we were clearing one counterfeiter off the site, others were taking their place.

"We don't have the resources to attend every car boot fair every Saturday and Sunday so this decision, confirming the operator's responsibilities, is something of a lifeline to those local businesses that have been losing out to such unfair competition and to honest tax and ratepayers."

The council's cabinet member for community safety Coun Joyce Benbow said: "This is a warning that the operators and site owners must clean up their sites or risk the full force of the law.

"They can no longer have any doubt that, along with their profits, comes the responsibility for deterring overt, illegal activities of this nature."