Fake goods valued at £1m seized

Goods seized included handbags, watches and sunglasses

Fake designer goods valued at more than £1m have been seized by trading standards officers from West End shops.

Among the haul were counterfeit handbags, jewellery and sunglasses using brand names such as Gucci and Prada, Westminster Council said.

They are usually imported from the Far East and sold in market stalls and smaller retailers in the West End.

The counterfeit goods were aimed at West End Christmas shoppers, who are expected to spend millions of pounds.

Councillor Audrey Lewis said: "We are working hard to make absolutely certain anyone who comes to shop in the West End will get what they have paid for and won't be ripped off."

Officers visited four premises in the West End on Saturday to retrieve the haul as part of a week-long Operation Scrooge to rid the street of counterfeit goods before Christmas.