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Nearly £18,000 of goods were seized from two vehicles at Lyndsay Smith’s Hartlepool home during the trading standards raid.

They included 60 sleeves of Richmond king size cigarettes and 14 sleeves of of L&B original silver cigarettes.

These were estimated to be worth £9,057.30p.

Lyndsay Smith is sentenced at Teesside Magistrates Court for attempting to sell counterfeit goods.

Another £8,897 of Nike Air Max 90 shoes, Nike sweatshirts and North Face sportswear were confiscated on October 13, 2021, as well as more than £15,000 in cash and 13 electronic devices.

Smith, 43, of Elwick Road, admitted six trading standards offences earlier this month and has returned to Teesside Magistrates’ Court to be sentenced.

Tony Macnab, prosecuting for Hartlepool Borough Council, said a business phone revealed details of Smith’s activities, adding: “The Samsung which had been seized contained conversations which involved the sale of countless clothes.”

He continued: “It is an extremely lucrative criminal act which reduces the ability of a good company to return a profit and create a business with that.”

A sample of the counterfeit goods seized from Lyndsay Smith by trading standards officers.

Paul Dunn, mitigating, said Smith was a carer for her mother and added: “She has seen an opportunity to sell a small amount of goods for her family who were struggling. She did not want this to go on any longer and just left them in her car.”

He added: “This is way beyond her and her level of sophistication and she regretted becoming involved."

Nigel Guerin, chair of the bench, said Smith’s actions did “involve a degree of planning” and ordered her to complete 200 hours of unpaid work plus 10 rehabilitation activity days.

She must also pay a £2,316 victim surcharge and £114 costs.

Another example of the counterfeit goods seized from Lyndsay Smith.

A council spokesperson said: “The sale of counterfeit goods harms the economy as it diverts funds away from legitimate businesses.

“Supplying counterfeit goods using any means, including in person, social networking websites and the internet, is a criminal offence and can result in an unlimited fine and/or up to 10 years imprisonment upon conviction.

"The courts also have the power to confiscate items which cannot be proven to have been earned legitimately, and this has resulted in people having their homes, vehicles and possessions confiscated and sold.”

Contact the council with information about counterfeit trading on (01429) 523362 or by emailing [email protected]

Hartlepool woman caught with nearly £18,000 of counterfeit cigarettes and sportswear