COUNTERFEIT clothing worth more than £500,000 has been seized in raids on eBay traders.

Jackets, jeans, t-shirts, shorts and tracksuits which were branded with designer names - including Stone Island, North Face, Prada, Timberland and Armani - were found when police and Trading Standards officers swooped on three addresses.

Two storage units, one in Unsworth, Bury, and one in Worsley, as well as a house in Brandlesholme, Bury, were targeted in the operation last week.

A total of 4,000 fake items were found at the three properties and two men were arrested and later released on police bail.

Inspector Andy Sutcliffe said: "The production and sale of counterfeit goods is not a victimless crime, as it has a serious effect on the clothing industry.

"It also means that those who buy the goods are getting inferior products.

"We will continue to work closely with Trading Standards to clamp down on this major problem.

"In addition to stopping the sale of counterfeit goods, we aim to target those who produce the goods to cut off the supply at source."

The operation was mounted after an eBay trader offering hundreds of items of clothing on the internet auction site was traced to the area.

Cllr Keith Mann, of Salford Council, added: "This is a strong message that we will not tolerate this kind of underhand and illegitimate practice."