A HATFIELD market stallholder caught selling counterfeit brands has to complete 60 hours of community service, after being convicted by magistrates.

A huge haul of more than 1,000 fake designer clothes were seized - worth around �9,000 in the raid.

Big names including Nike, Adidas, Diesel, Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren and Timberland were among the items taken from the town centre market by Hertfordshire County Council’s Trading Standards in October 2008.

The stallholder, Harchand Mangat, 54, of St Albans Road, Ilford, appeared before magistrates in Watford in December and found guilty of 14 trademark offences.

Mangat said he believed the goods were genuine when he was selling them, but his argument was not accepted by magistrates.

He was sentenced in Hemel Hempstead on Monday to a one-year community order and to pay costs of �700.

County councillor Keith Emsall, executive member for community safety, said: “Traders cannot simply turn a blind eye as to whether or not goods are counterfeit.

“It’s not acceptable to buy goods and make no checks as to whether or not they are genuine. “That belief must be based on reasonable grounds and so checks should be taken to find out whether the goods are authentic.”