Thousands of counterfeit pieces of clothing seized in a raid in Ponders End have been donated to a charity to be given to the homeless and vulnerable.

Nearly 3,000 fake designer shirts, jeans, trainers and other items were handed to charity His Church this morning for redistribution by Enfield Council’s trading standards team instead of following a court order to destroy them.

The items will be stripped of their fake logos, which included Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton, Prada and Nike labels.

Senior co-ordinator at the charity, Richard Humphrey, said he was “delighted” to find a good use for the clothing instead of it being incinerated.

He added: “We are extremely grateful for this clothing and pleased that we can rebrand it and return it to Enfield where it will go to people in great need.

“This means that many families and people in need can make use of clothing that would have been sold at inflated prices.”

Police and trading standards officers raided the warehouse in Ponders End in December 2008 after receiving a tip-off from a member of the public, and found 2,891 items worth more than £20,000.

Ibrahim Guder, 33, of Willowfield, Harlow, was convicted of 12 offences under the Trade Marks Act at Southwark Crown Court on March 9 and was sentenced to nine months in prison.