Counterfeit goods were being sold at the Great Dorset Steam Fair in August 2022, and the couple responsible have been convicted.

Mr Mohammed Masood Ali, 56, and Mrs Kauser Fisa Ali, 55, from Bolton, appeared before Bolton Magistrates on 7 November for sentencing having previously pleaded guilty to nine offences under the Trade Marks Act 1994 at Weymouth Court.

The court heard how a trading standards officer was at the Steam Fair on the bank holiday Monday and noticed a large stall in the market area selling a wide range of counterfeit goods including handbags, purses, hats, trainers and clothing. The stall was owned by Mr and Mrs Ali. With the assistance of staff and security officers from the Steam Fair approximately 600 items were seized, all of which were later confirmed as counterfeit by the trademark representatives. The court was told that if these items had been genuine their value would have been over £290,000.

Mrs Ali claimed that she didn’t know the items were fake and didn’t know anything about counterfeits. However, checks by trading standards revealed that Mrs Ali had pleaded guilty to selling counterfeit goods in July 2020 at Greater Manchester Magistrates Court. This followed an investigation where she was filmed selling counterfeit goods at four different markets spread across the country. In this case she was described as a prolific trader in fake goods.

Both Mr and Mrs Ali were sentenced to 12-month imprisonment suspended for two years. Mr Ali was ordered to undertake 300 hours of unpaid work and Mrs Ali was given a curfew order from 6pm to 6am for a period of six months. Both were ordered to pay prosecution costs of £931 and a victim surcharge of £187.

Cllr Laura Beddow, Dorset Council’s portfolio holder for Culture, Communities and Customer Services, said: “The sale of counterfeit goods can undermine the reputation of the brands they are imitating but also severely damage businesses selling the genuine items. Anyone caught selling fake goods in Dorset will face robust legal action by the Council’s trading standards service.”