A craftsman who claimed the products he made in his shed were from the nationally renowned Mouseman furniture workshop has been given a community order.

Former workshop employee Daniel Cooke, 29, carved small mice on his products and sold them on eBay, said Susan Airton, prosecuting.

But he wasn't entitled to use the hallmark animal as it is the registered trademark of Robert Thompson Craftsmen Ltd of Kilburn.

Ms Airton told York magistrates that by the time the company spotted what Cooke was doing he had sold 90 wooden products including furniture via eBay and made a profit of £16,490 between March 2017 and September 2019.

The company is named after the Victorian furniture maker known as the Mouseman, because he always carved a tiny mouse on his oak products. It continues his tradition.

Its managing director, Ian Thompson Cartwright said after the case Cooke' s actions had put its reputation on the line and could have led to job losses.

Ms Airton said Cooke had worked for the company from 2009 to 2017 including a four-year apprenticeship.

Cooke, of Dalton, a village not far from Kilburn near Thirsk, pleaded guilty to six charges relating to false trademarks.

He was ordered to do 100 hours' unpaid work and pay North Yorkshire County Council's £1,592 prosecution costs and an £85 statutory surcharge.

Magistrates said he had shown a "high level of professionalism" in his crimes and betrayed the company's trust as it had taught him how to create wooden furniture and the hallmark mice.

The council's executive member for trading standards Cllr Andrew Lee said: “Buyers of the items sold by Daniel Cooke were expecting to get an original product crafted in the Robert Thompson workshops.

"Instead, they were sent poorer copies made by Daniel Cooke after he had left the company.

"These copies did not meet the standards set by the company, and had the potential to damage the reputation of a long-established North Yorkshire business."

For Cooke, Lauren Hartley said he had had financial problems following his departure from the Kilburn firm and every time his wife had presented him with a bill, he had gone to the shed to make a fake mouse product.

All the money he made on the internet auction site had gone on bills.

Since his arrest, he had turned his life around and now worked for a cold storage company. His new employers sent a reference to court, as did a long-term friend.

Ms Airton told the court the mice were so distinctive the company's directors could tell exactly who had carved each one.

It only sells its products through its salesroom or by direct order.

Concerned about the number of Mouseman products appearing on eBay, they had investigated and made a test product of a wooden barometer.

They identified the mouse on it as carved by Cooke and the eBay account was tracked back to him, though he had used names other than his own.

They also found a fake mouse on a wooden product at his home.

Mr Thompson Cartwright said: “Robert Thompson’s Craftsmen Ltd, the family-run, Yorkshire-based business is grateful to trading standards for pursuing this particular case against Daniel Cooke, a former employee, and achieving a successful conviction.

"For this to happen to a small business like ours not only puts our reputation on the line, it could also jeopardise current employees’ jobs.

"With the growth in online sales, it’s reassuring for us all to know that trading standards are protecting businesses and consumers from individuals who sell counterfeit goods.”