A CWMTILLERY woman has been ordered by a court to pay £940 for selling counterfeit goods from her hairdressing salon.

Lindsey Jane Gillgrass, 34, of Brookside Row, Cwmtillery, appeared before Cwmbran Magistrates Court charged with 10 offences under the Trade Marks Act 1994 following an investigation by Blaenau Gwent Council’s Trading Standards Section.

Joseph Murphy, prosecuting, told the court trading standards had been tipped off that counterfeit Barbour jackets were openly being sold from Perfect Image salon on Alma Street, Abertillery, which is owned by Gilgrass.

Trading standards then arranged a test purchase operation at the salon where a counterfeit Barbour jacket was sold to an undercover test purchaser for £40.

The test purchaser was also offered Paco Rabanne’s Lady Million perfume at the time, which was declined.

Later that day officers entered the salon, introduced themselves to Gillgrass and conducted a full inspection of the premises.

During the inspection officers found quantities of counterfeit Ugg boots, Barbour jackets, Nike and Hollister T-shirts, Paco Rabanne and Lady Million perfume.

Gillgrass’s defence solicitor said: “She earns a small income from her shop and supplements this income by selling counterfeit goods purchased from a van in Birmingham.”

On sentencing, Magistrates told Gillgrass that he sale of counterfeit goods was a “very silly way of improving income and an illegal one”.

Gillgrass pleaded guilty to all 10 offences on September 30 and was initially ordered to pay a fine of £600, which was reduced to £400 due to her early guilty plea. She was also ordered to pay a £40 victim surcharge plus £500 investigation costs to Blaenau Gwent Council.

Magistrates ordered the payment of the fine at a rate of £20 per week and the forfeiture and destruction of all counterfeit goods.

A Council spokeswoman said: “The sale of counterfeit goods is a serious offence and damages legitimate business. Brand holders suffer as their image is devalued while retailers attempting to sell genuine products suffer due to unfair competition, which ultimately results in reduced sales. As the accused was trying to run a business herself, she should have been aware of this.”