A COUPLE who claimed they inadvertently sold counterfeit goods through an internet auction site have been given 120 hours’ community service at York Crown Court.

Gillian Feathers, 44, and partner Paul Mark House, 40, admitted selling a number of items of clothing bearing designer labels, such as Armani.

The pair came to the attention of City of York Council’s trading standards department after a complaint was made from a man who doubted the authenticity of a pair of designer jeans he had bought from the couple on eBay. A subsequent test purchase by trading standards officers showed the jeans to be counterfeit and a search was made of the couple’s home in Carron Crescent, Woodthorpe.

Katherine Robinson, for the prosecution, told how the couple bought items of clothing from a market in Scotland, but had no invoices or receipts for the transactions.

She said: “House said he dealt with the internet transactions while Feathers dealt with packaging.”

In mitigation, Glenn Parsons QC said the market where the couple bought their stock did sell genuine items and “high-end” counterfeit goods, and the couple had believed the items they had bought to be end-of-line genuine items.

Judge James Spencer QC asked why the couple had pleaded guilty if they had not believed the goods to be fake.

Mr Parsons replied: “To be able to raise a defence they would have had to raise some proof of receipt and they have to accept they don’t have the relevant paperwork for the high-end stuff, such as Armani.”

He also reiterated many of the items sold by the couple were genuine.

Mr Parsons said: “They are hard-working, honest people who have worked hard all their lives. This is a great shock to them to find themselves in court at their age.

“It’s been very stressful for them over the last few months.”

Passing sentence, Judge Spencer described the sale of counterfeit goods as undermining the hard work by companies to create a good name and it also put jobs at risk.

He said: “You both come before this court with no previous convictions of this kind and you have character references in your support. It seems to me that it’s not necessary to impose a prison sentence.”

The couple were given a 12-month community order to carry out 120 hours’ of unpaid work.