MORE than half a million pounds worth of counterfeit goods due to be sold on Ebay were seized from a warehouse in Wirral yesterday.

Wirral’s Trading Standards team had been tipped off by colleagues in Lancashire and raided the warehouse in Price Street in Birkenhead.

Four men were arrested after wine and beer – believed not to have duty paid – was also discovered.

Boxes labelled “complete meals handle with care” were opened by Trading Standards to reveal the fake designer clothes.

Brands such as Henleys, North Face, Ben Sherman, Moschino underwear and Fred Perry were discovered.

Head of Wirral Trading Standards John Malone said it was a major discovery, but his officers now faced months of cataloguing the seizures, and those arrested would probably be bailed until this was done.

He added: “We were contacted by Lancashire Trading Standards who said someone was selling goods on Ebay.”

The warehouse contained a massive store of items.

Steve Baker, who represented trademark holders for Henleys and North Face, said the seizure was large but was still unlikely to have a huge impact on the black market for counterfeit clothes.

He said: “We found around 4,000 to 5,000 items of Henleys in here, hooded tops which sell for £65 or T-shirts which can cost £35, but there was an invoice which said they had 14,000.”