BORDER Force officials at the Port of Felixstowe have stopped millions of pounds worth of fake goods from entering the country in the run-up to Christmas.

Goods including fake handbags, clothes, cosmetics and perfumes, with an estimated value of about �5million, have been seized by officers over the last two months.

The haul caps off a successful year for the Border Force which has seized an estimated �25million worth of goods in Felixstowe in the last six months.

Kevin Sayer, senior officer for the Border Force at Felixstowe, said: “It’s a constant trade and we are happy when we are taking some people out of the loop.

“All of these goods on the market affect genuine trade and it hits them (traders) where it hurts – in the pocket.”

On October15, 7,668 pairs of counterfeit UGG boots, valued at more than �920,000, were seized and fake Adidas products have also been stopped from going on the market.

Mary Strang, senior trading standards officer, added: “It’s a significant amount of counterfeit products and shows the amount of products that are coming into the country.

“It really is critical that they are picked up.”

Mike Roylance, senior brand protection manager at Adidas, added: “It is always pleasing to see things like this because it means that customs have stopped it getting on to the street.

“It (counterfeit goods) does give us a bad name because we have letters from people saying things like their products have shrunk and the colour has changed and when we look into it, it invariably turns out to be a counterfeit product.”

The seized products were destined for a number of place in the UK including Kent, London and Manchester – they are currently being stored and are likely to be destroyed.