TRADING standards officers hope the prosecution of a man who sold fake DVDs at a car boot sale will restrict his activities.

Tony Bartell, from Stanley, was arrested after he was seen selling counterfeit discs, many of popular film titles current at the time, at the sale at Blaydon Rugby Club, near Gateshead, last September.

Officers from Northumbria Police and Gateshead Council's trading standards department recovered almost 400 DVDs, plus music discs and computer games from his car.

Among films he was offering were Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest, the children's cartoon Barnyard, plus Romeo and Juliet - Sealed with a Kiss, all of which were current cinema releases.

Bartell admitted knowing they were counterfeit, claiming he bought them for £1 each to sell for £2, but he refused to identify his supplier.

District Judge Gary Garland, sitting at Gateshead Magistrates' Court, was told the copyright holders confirmed all were counterfeit, with an estimated value of more than £6,500.

Thirty-four-year-old Bartell admitted 26 offences under the Trade Marks Act.

District Judge Garland imposed a nine-month community order to include a three-month electronically-tagged curfew.

It means Bartell must remain at home, in Durham Road, from 9pm to 7am, between Monday and Friday, and between 7am and 7pm, on Saturday and Sunday.

He was also ordered to pay £120 costs.

Paul Dowling, head of the council's regulatory services section, described the outcome as "an excellent result, reflecting the serious nature of the offence."

He said: "The curfew part of the community order will make it very difficult to for Mr Bartell carry on trading in this way.

"Trading standards officers carry out regular checks on car boot sales and other outlets, and we often receive complaints from legitimate traders or copyright holders."

Mr Dowling added: "People should beware of goods that might be counterfeit, because they run a serious risk of getting a very poor quality product with absolutely no chance of getting their money back.

"Counterfeit goods are rarely the bargain they may first seem."