A market trader who was caught selling counterfeit shoes has been ordered to pay back £60,000 or face jail.

Sukhdeav Singh, 58, sold fake branded trainers and boots at Rye Market.

Last February, Singh pleaded guilty to 13 counts relating to trademark theft.

He had counterfeit footwear he planned to sell that would have a retail value of more than £170,000 if they were genuine.

Following last year’s prosecution, East Sussex Trading Standards began proceedings against Singh under the Proceeds of Crime Act to recover assets and cash obtained through his criminal activities.

At a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing on March 11 this year at Lewes Crown Court, Singh was made the subject of a confiscation order.

Singh, of City Way in Rochester, Kent,  was ordered to pay a total of £60,000 within three months. Any default of payment could result in up to six months’ imprisonment.

Judge Mark Van Der Zwart said: “The particular criminal conduct amounted to £60,000 and the defendant had available assets in this sum.”

Andy Clooney, Trading Standards team manager at East Sussex County Council, said: “The sale of counterfeit goods harms legitimate sales and damages consumer confidence.

“This individual not only tricked people into paying for inferior goods, his actions also had a detrimental effect on genuine traders and the manufacturers whose products he claimed to be selling.

“This confiscation order should send a clear message that we will do everything in our power to disrupt the sale of illegal goods in our county and take back the profits from these crimes.”

Singh was originally sentenced in March last year to a four-month custodial sentence suspended for one year to run concurrently on each of the 13 counts to which he pleaded guilty and 80 hours of unpaid work.

He was also made to pay full prosecution costs of £1,110.

For consumer advice, or to report a concern to Trading Standards, people can contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133, or use their online reporting page which can be found at www.eastsussex.gov.uk/trading-standards/contact.