COUNTERFEIT clothes confiscated in South Gloucestershire will be put to good use as they keep hundreds of homeless and vulnerable people warm this spring.

The local authority's trading standards is working in partnership with His Church charity to breathe new life into all of the fake clothing it has seized during raids over the last year.

Trading standards handed over hundreds of garments to the organisation earlier this month.

His Church then removed all the false labels and rebranded the items with its own logo before donating the clothes to homeless charities.

Richard Humphrey, senior coordinator of His Church charity, said: "We are very grateful to partner with South Gloucestershire trading standards, who put in a lot of hard work and dedication to take counterfeit clothing off the streets.

"This is not a victimless crime. Their work is essential in fighting counterfeiting and the sale of counterfeit goods which has a negative impact on local businesses.

"The great thing about this partnership is that it not only takes profit away from criminals, it also helps some of the most vulnerable people in society to have new clothing, which can be crucial in helping conserve dignity and open up new work opportunities."

Storing fake clothes whilst waiting for a court decision can incur costs for customs and trading standards. Once the items have been proved to be fake the authorities have to find funds for incineration or landfill costs.

His Church charity has eliminated these costs by recycling and distributing the goods to around 250 homeless centres and women's shelters across the country.