Oxford Street US-themed candy stores raided for fake goods

A London assembly has seized much than £200,000 worthy of counterfeit goods from saccharine and souvenir shops on Oxford Street.

Westminster City Council said fake decorator watches and unsafe vapes were among the items taken from businesses on the celebrated buying route.

Hundreds of children's toys, powerfulness banks, and electrical chargers without information labels were besides confiscated.

It comes arsenic the assembly unveils multi-million lb regeneration plans.

Adam Hug from the section authorization said determination had "been an explosion" of the American-themed candy shops, which "are a menace to the status" of Oxford Street.

Investigations are underway, successful conjunction with Trading Standards, into 30 of the stores successful the West End amid allegations that immoderate companies person evaded concern rates to the amounting to £8m.

Mr Hug added the revamp of Oxford Street was to pull "high-value retail tenants".

He said the assembly was "cracking down connected dodgy saccharine shops which permission a sour sensation successful the rima for radical who spell successful them".

The plans for a revamp see wider pavements and much thoroughfare foliage.

The newly-elected Labour medication has said it volition larn from the mistakes made by the erstwhile Conservative-run council, which oversaw the infamous Marble Arch Mound.

An probe into the disappointing attraction past twelvemonth recovered the soaring costs were "devastating" and "avoidable".