Traders selling fake World Cup goods will be tracked down as Trading Standards officers plan a swoop on car boot sales across Lancashire.

Dozens of the Lancashire County Council officers will be visiting sales as part of a county wide crackdown.

Jim Potts, chief trading standards officer, has issued a stark warning to anyone planning to take advantage of the football competition and try to sell counterfeit goods.

He said: "We're aware of a few people that do it and they will be targeted and we will try to track them down.

"But we will be visiting as many car boot sales as possible to make sure we can remove as many fake goods as we can off the streets of Lancashire."

Mr Potts, who did not want to reveal which sites they would be hitting for fear of pre-warning the culprits, said his officers would step up the pace as England continue through the competition as he feared more goods could appear as the demand for England goodies steps up.

He said the team will be keeping a close eye out for fake goods emblazoned with a phony FIFA logo or the three lions' emblem.

He added: "People get more and more involved in the World Cup as England progress further through towards the final.

"It's a month long competition and we will be making sure we carry out checks through the whole period.

"There is no excuse for selling or buying false goods because a lot of the official merchandise has been produced at reasonable prices."

Some T-shirts have already been seized at a sale in Lancashire and Mr Potts warned football fans to be alert when buying match tickets to ensure they are FIFA accredited.