COUNTERFEITERS who sell fakes at car boot sales will face tougher penalties if a new Bill is approved.

The move will give councils greater powers to crack down on sellers and organisers.

They will be outlined in a Private Member's Bill to be announced next week by John Whittingdale, Conservative chairman of the Commons Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport.

He wants to see a crackdown on landowners and market organisers who knowingly allow the sale of fake goods to take place on their land.

The proposals have been endorsed by trading standards officials in the North, who have led the fight against counterfeits at car boot sales.

In February, George Banks, 54, of Ouston, Chester-le-Street, Cou-nty Durham, the promoter of car boot sales at Redcar Racecourse, was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £2,000 costs after he was found guilty of allowing counterfeit stock to be sold at his event.

In March, car boot sale trader Alan Rootham, 38, was given a two-year community rehabilitation order by Judge George Moorhouse and ordered to pay £1,000.

He used computer equipment at his home to copy Hollywood films and sell them for as little as £2 each.

Rootham, of Hollystone Drive, Ingleby Barwick, near Stockton, regularly traded from a van at car boot sales in Thornaby and on Redcar racecourse.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's efforts to clamp down on the sale of counterfeit CDs, DVDs and other items at car boot sales led to its trading standards team recently winning an award from the Anti-Counterfeiting Group.

If the Bill becomes law, organisers of sales will have to register the name, address and vehicle details of would-be dealers 21 days before the sale takes place.

This will enable those known for selling illegal goods to be barred from the event.

Those found to be turning a blind eye to the sale of illegal products could be punished with a £5,000 fine and up to six months in prison.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's chief trading standards officer, Jeff Bell, said: "We were the first local authority to successfully prosecute a car boot sale promoter for exactly this type of offence.

"But it took a great deal of time and resources because there was not this type of legislation in place.

"Therefore, we welcome this move, which will speed up the process.