Mother and son sentenced for selling 'unbelievable' amount of counterfeit goods from Chapel St Leonards shop

A mother and son have been sentenced for selling counterfeit goods in Chapel St Leonards
The Bling Shop, Chapel St LeonardsThe Bling Shop, Chapel St Leonards
The Bling Shop, Chapel St Leonards

At Lincoln Crown Court on Friday, January 18, mother and son duo Mavis and Darren Chamberlain were sentenced for selling counterfeit trainers, bags, t-shirts and watches amongst others at their 'Bling Shop' on Trunch Lane in Chapel St Leonards, after being caught red-handed selling counterfeits worth thousands of pounds.

Darren Chamberlain (50), 74 Briar Road, Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancs, was prosecuted for 20 trademark offences. He received a 12 month suspended custodial sentence, and is now under curfew between 8pm and 7.30am.

The Bling Shop, Chapel St LeonardsThe Bling Shop, Chapel St Leonards
The Bling Shop, Chapel St Leonards

Mavis Chamberlain (78) of the same address, had 15 trademark offences against her. She received a six month community order for each offence, to run concurrently. She is also now under curfew between 8pm and 8am.

Leeza Mohsan, trading standards officer at Lincolnshire County Council, explains: "The 'Bling Shop' was first on our radar in 2017. We couldn’t believe how many counterfeit goods were for sale!

"Following a test purchase, we raided the shop and found almost 2,500 items. I think it was one of the biggest hauls we've ever had. Adding them all together – they would be worth tens of thousands of pounds. We also found screwdrivers and knives which were being used to apply badges to goods.

"There were all sorts of items for sale – everything from watches and trainers to handbags and T-shirts. These were mainly Hugo Boss, Adidas, Chanel, Michael Kors, UGG, Calvin Klein, Nike and Reebok.

The Bling Shop, Chapel St LeonardsThe Bling Shop, Chapel St Leonards
The Bling Shop, Chapel St Leonards

"In the beginning, Darren Chamberlain denied all knowledge of what was happening in the shop - despite there being a package of counterfeits with his name on. He tried to put all the blame on his 78 year old mother – Mavis. Incredible!

"Amazingly, just a week after seizing all the goods, the Bling Shop was open for business. It was full of counterfeits again! Either they didn’t think they would get caught or they just didn’t care!"

On the sentencing, Leeza commented: "Selling of counterfeit goods not only harms the interests of the trade mark holders, but also those of legitimate traders. We work with trade mark holders to stop such activity.

“If anyone spots any counterfeits for sale in Lincolnshire, please contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 03454 04 05 06 or visit https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/.”