Stark warning issued to Portsmouth Commercial Road shoppers ahead of Christmas - what is it?

Portsmouth Trading Standards has issued an alert amid an uptick of incidents in Commercial Road. The organisation urges anyone who spots such activity to report it to them.

“We often receive reports in the lead up to Christmas about individuals in Commercial Road who approach members of the public offering to sell them 'cheap' perfumes and other items from carrier bags,” they said.

“Whilst it may sound like a bargain, these perfumes can be dangerous if they are fake as they have not undergone safety testing and could cause skin irritation and/or contain toxic ingredients such as arsenic, lead or mercury. If you see this taking place, or are approached, please report it to us or to the police.”

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The trading standards website said fake cosmetics, perfumes, and other beauty and hair products, contain harmful materials such as horse urine, rat droppings, arsenic, lead, and mercury. “Fake goods are untested, unregulated and unsafe,” they added.

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has launched its “choose safe not fake campaign”, an awareness initiative designed to help tackle consumer demand for counterfeit goods. IPO Chief Executive and Comptroller, Adam Williams, said: “Through our new, highly focused campaign, we are delivering a very clear message – that the serious risks to health these counterfeit goods pose can never amount a to a ‘good deal’ for shoppers.

“Shining a light on the significant personal harms counterfeit beauty and hygiene products can cause, this campaign uses audience insight to target specific consumer groups through a range of media channels and aims to reduce their appetite for these goods. As we continue to work with our partners to tackle the threat of IP crime and infringement, activities to disrupt the supply and reduce demand for counterfeits form complementary elements to our approach.”