Harinder Singh, from Ivy Road, Hounslow, was found with items bearing luxury brand names such as Hermes, Chanel, Gucci, D&G and Louis Vuitton at his Shergard storage unit in Greenford Road, Greenford on March 9 last year.

A large stash of fake items were also discovered in Singh's van during the operation, along with spare 'designer' labels, logos and badges, which the investigating Ealing trading standards team believe were intended to be attached to items for sale.

At a sentencing hearing on Thursday (Nov 20), the 48-year-old, who has four past convictions for the same offences, was told to pay £700 in legal costs, wear an electronic tag for four months and carry out 80 hours community service.

Many of the goods were destined to be sold at Bovingdon Market in Hertfordshire and Wembley Sunday Market for around £5, leading a judge at Harrow Crown Court to accept they were not being sold as genuine and that customers did not believe they were buying a genuine article.

Mr Singh had already admitted to nine counts of owning fake designer goods at an earlier hearing on October 23, following the successful prosecution from Ealing Council.

At the sentencing it was estimated that the goods gathered by the Ealing trading standards team would have been worth approximately £285,000 if genuine.

Ealing Council's deputy leader Ranjit Dheer said: “Selling counterfeit goods is a serious offence that adversely affects customers and honest businesses and is often linked to organised crime.

“The sheer volume of fakes that were discovered on this occasion show how big the problem is and why it's so important that we take decisive action to try and halt the tide of illegal forgeries from flooding the market.”

Fake Louis Vuitton purses seized by trading standards officers