A MARRIED couple sold counterfeit fashion items at a market in Dorset.

Mohammed Ali and wife Kauser Ali had items on sale which if they were genuine would have been worth over £200,000.

Bolton Magistrates' Court heard the couple were visited at the Dorset Steam Fair by trading standards in August last year.

The pair were approached on a bank holiday and said they did not know about trademarks.

Neil Martin, prosecuting, said: “Officers picked up a handbag.

“Mrs Ali said it was not an offending item which indicates she was well aware of laws around trademarks.”

The court heard when officers approached Mohammed Ali he told them he had a Bolton address different to the one which he had used in a form to apply to work at the market.

He later admitted this was his cousin’s address.

Mr Martin added: “The value of the items if genuine would be just over £291,000.”

The couple were uncooperative with an investigation.

The both claimed to have an ill mother who was unwell and they had to visit in Pakistan.

The couple, both from Armadale Road, Bolton appeared in Weymouth Magistrates' Court previously where they both admitted to nine counts of possessing goods with a fake mark for sale.

The items purported to be Nike training shoes, Adidas shorts, a North Face tracksuit, a Christian Dior hat and purse, a Lacoste tracksuit, a Louis Vuitton hat, a Prada handbag, a Ralph Lauren tracksuit and an Yves St Lauren handbag.

Mohammed Ali, 56, and Kauser Ali, 55, appeared in Bolton Magistrates' Court on Tuesday to be sentenced.

The court heard Kauser Ali had been convicted of similar offences at Manchester and Salford Magistrates' Court.

Steven Connor, defending, urged the justices to spare them a prison sentence.

He said they were terrified of the prospect of going to prison, were a low risk to the public and cared for two children.

Chair of the bench Jean Hamilton said her starting point was a prison sentence.

She said: “We have considered this very carefully.

“We do believe the custody threshold has been crossed.

“We have taken account of the totality of the offending, your previous conviction Mrs Ali, your lack of remorse and that you failed to engage with proceedings.

“We are going to suspend the sentence.”

Ms Hamilton suspended a sentence of a year for two years for both of them.

She ordered Mr Ali to do 300 hours of unpaid work and placed Mrs Ali on a curfew to run from 6pm until 6am for six months.