Raids on a huge city market saw fake goods worth £250,000 seized by counterfeiting investigators.

Trading Standards and police swooped on stalls at Brighton Racecourse Market yesterday morning in a bid to drive dodgy dealers and fake merchandise out of the city.

Clothes, boots and jewellery were among the haul of suspected fakes on sale at a fraction of the real thing’s High Street value.

Officials are also looking at the sale of underground DVDs featuring illegal bare-knuckle boxing, dead bodies and violent attacks on homeless people.

Stallholders claimed they were not doing anything wrong.

Trading Standards officers said the black-market trade is directly linked to drug peddling and serious crime including terrorism.

Police and specialists representing big-name trademarks like Nike and Adidas accompanied officers on their inspections, which netted a vanload of clothing including Ugg boots, Adidas tracksuits and Air hoodies.

Officers said the market, whose 500 stalls attract about 30,000 people every bank holiday, is becoming known as a hub of counterfeiting activity.

Market organisers said they welcomed the raids yesterday and backed the fight against counterfeiting.