Trading standards seize more than £6 million of illegal goods across county

Members of the Staffordshire County Council team seized over 100,000 illicit cigarettes, 16kg of illicit tobacco and 19 litres of illicit alcohol.

And they have dealt with more than 500 scams and signposted 893 scam victims for support – including 16 victims of attempted doorstep crime.

Five rogue traders were prosecuted and the service's animal health team also intervened at 79 businesses breaching animal health and welfare legislation.

Councillor Victoria Wilson, cabinet member with responsibility for trading standards at Staffordshire County Council, said: "The work of our trading standards team delivers huge value – from saving consumers millions of pounds to supporting some extremely vulnerable victims.

"Much of the work goes under the radar but things like taking illegal and dangerous counterfeit goods off the streets remains a priority for the team. Not only can such products be harmful and leave people out of pocket but the fake goods market also helps support organised crime.

"Identifying scams, raising awareness on how people can protect themselves from them, plus supporting victims also makes up a large part of what the team does. As well as the usual scams, teams have also been dealing with those relating to the Covid-19 pandemic as criminals try to exploit the crisis.

"Much of the work of the team does require the help of local communities who can be the ears on the ground, so anyone interested in helping raise awareness of scams in their local community should contact the team."

In other areas of work, 1,415 traders were supported with advice, with a further 298 new businesses receiving guidance on trading regulations. Four food businesses were advised about allergy awareness and rules.

People can find out more about Trading Standards and their work at staffordshire.gov.uk/Business/Tradingstandards/About-Us.aspx