A LORRYLOAD of fake designer jackets shipped in through Ramsgate harbour is to be destroyed.

In total 7,883 fake coats were found, with brands including Timberland, G-Star, Prada and Stone Island, when Customs and Trading Standards stopped the lorry in September.

Officers discovered a wall of cardboard boxes containing the fake goods.

Neptune Trading in Malta was the registered owner of the dodgy clothes but the company did not exist. The hooky haul was bound for Preston and a company called Globeville UK Ltd, which also turned out not to exist.

Extensive searches through the companies register, Companies House, and letters sent to the listed addresses led nowhere and the authorities were unable to pin the crime on anyone.

Margate Magistrates’ Court heard on Thursday from Brendan Thorpe, legal officer for Trading Standards, that a sample of the clothes was sent to the designer label companies to confirm they were fakes.

All three firms said the jackets had the wrong kind of fabric and were of a poorer quality than the real thing. The labelling was also in the wrong place and the logos were the wrong colour.

The court agreed that Kent Trading Standards could destroy the clothes.

A Trading Standards spokesman said: "We contacted Maltese customs who confirmed that it was a false address that was being used for the company. This meant we couldn’t serve court notices on them. Therefore we had to contact the court to explain that the owner of the items could not be contacted and no-one had come forward to claim them. There is 21 days for the owner to appeal the decision taken on Thursday before the items are destroyed.

"We have a duty to investigate who is responsible for counterfeit goods and to try to get a prosecution. We are pleased that the items have been seized and that consumers have been prevented from losing money and buying poor quality fake items."

How to report fakes.

Phone and speak to Consumer Direct on 08454 040506 who will pass the information to Trading Standards. Contact can be completely confidential and you will not have to give a name or address. You can also report fakes online by visiting www.tradingstandards.gov.uk