0:00:02 > 0:00:05Welcome to a world where nothing is quite as it seems.
0:00:05 > 0:00:07Welcome to Fake Britain.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22- Get down! Get down!- On the floor now!
0:00:22 > 0:00:24Put your hands behind your back now!
0:00:24 > 0:00:26It's just an ordinary house.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29It could be anywhere in the country,
0:00:29 > 0:00:31but this is the Fake Britain house,
0:00:31 > 0:00:33and it's filled with fakes.
0:00:33 > 0:00:34You may not know it,
0:00:34 > 0:00:37but your home could be too.
0:00:37 > 0:00:40In this series, we'll be investigating the criminals trying
0:00:40 > 0:00:43to get their hands on your cash by
0:00:43 > 0:00:46using fraud, forgeries and fakery.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50And I'll be showing you how you can avoid being taken for a ride.
0:00:52 > 0:00:57Today on Fake Britain, the fireworks and the fakery that left one man
0:00:57 > 0:00:59blinded and scarred for life.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03I shouted, I screamed. It was awful.
0:01:03 > 0:01:06It was far, far worse than I'd imagined it would be.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11The fake car accessories flooding the market.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14We follow Trading Standards as they investigate...
0:01:15 > 0:01:19..and the fake charity collectors, who help themselves
0:01:19 > 0:01:22to the money given to the public by a good cause.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25They just pleaded ignorance saying, "We emptied the charity tins
0:01:25 > 0:01:27"and took what we thought was our fair share."
0:01:33 > 0:01:36Firework displays aren't just for Bonfire Night any more.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40Weddings, birthdays, all sorts of celebrations are marked
0:01:40 > 0:01:41by professional displays
0:01:41 > 0:01:45put on by people who we expect to know what they're doing and keep
0:01:45 > 0:01:50us all safe because it goes without saying, fireworks can be dangerous.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54You'd also expect them to have the correct insurance.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57This is a certificate of public liability,
0:01:57 > 0:02:01but this crucial document turned out to be a fake.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03When things went wrong, the results were tragic.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11When we visit a fireworks display, we expect a few things.
0:02:11 > 0:02:15Bright lights, big bangs, and above all, we expect to be safe.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18That's why to put on a professional show, the company doing the
0:02:18 > 0:02:24display has to prove to a firework supplier that it's competent.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27The main way of doing that is to have a public liability
0:02:27 > 0:02:29insurance document.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33Faking a document like this would potentially put us all in danger.
0:02:33 > 0:02:36Surely such a thing would be unthinkable?
0:02:38 > 0:02:41Chris Hignell from Bristol certainly thought so when he came
0:02:41 > 0:02:46into contact with professional pyrotechnician Jason Edgecombe.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49Now, Chris is a businessman and fireworks were his hobby.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52He'd only ever used the ones available to all of us
0:02:52 > 0:02:54over the shop counter.
0:02:54 > 0:02:55But when they met,
0:02:55 > 0:02:59Edgecombe invited Chris to help out at one of his professional displays.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01Chris jumped at the chance.
0:03:02 > 0:03:07I had this huge enthusiasm for firework displays as many
0:03:07 > 0:03:13people do, and he invited me along to assist, to watch from very
0:03:13 > 0:03:18close quarters how a professional firework display is fired.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Chris says he thought Edgecombe was a professional.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25He'd seen this public liability insurance document
0:03:25 > 0:03:27and was reassured.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32I saw the document and had no reason to doubt it.
0:03:32 > 0:03:33And when he got to the display,
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Edgecombe made Chris an even more exciting offer.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41I never expected to be offered the chance to actually ignite
0:03:41 > 0:03:46one of the fireworks, erm, but that was offered to me,
0:03:46 > 0:03:49and I accepted it because of my enthusiasm for doing so.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52I understood that he was a professional who was fully
0:03:52 > 0:03:55insured, and fully trained.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58I wasn't given any training at all.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02I was simply told when he says "now", to light the fuse,
0:04:02 > 0:04:04and that is exactly what I did.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09Chris wasn't used to professional fireworks.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12He'd only used ones before that any of us could buy, like these.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17Edgecombe's were professional grade, and unbeknown to Chris,
0:04:17 > 0:04:20this meant there was no delay on the fuses.
0:04:20 > 0:04:28As soon as I lit the fuse, I felt an incredible pain in my face.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31It knocked me to my knees.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35Even in the dark, I knew blood was pouring from my face,
0:04:35 > 0:04:39and I was soon aware that my hair was on fire.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43I collapsed to the ground and used the dew off of the grass
0:04:43 > 0:04:48on my hands to try and put the flames out on my head.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52One of the other people that was there shouted, "Man down!"
0:04:52 > 0:04:56Unfortunately, Mr Edgecombe chose to ignore the man down
0:04:56 > 0:05:00and carried on with the display for a further seven minutes.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04Chris was drifting in and out of consciousness.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08Meanwhile, Wendy received a call at work.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10I knew he'd gone to help somebody with some fireworks
0:05:10 > 0:05:14and I just knew straightaway that something awful had happened.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17I said to my colleagues I had to go. I dropped everything.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20I drove to where the accident had happened.
0:05:20 > 0:05:25I just stopped my car, got out, ran over to where Chris was.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28The paramedics were dealing with him. You can't describe it.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31You really can't describe what you're seeing
0:05:31 > 0:05:33because you couldn't even distinguish a face.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37Awful. Absolutely awful.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40When it's somebody you love, to see them like that -
0:05:40 > 0:05:41it's very difficult.
0:05:42 > 0:05:47Chris was rushed to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol.
0:05:47 > 0:05:48For the first 24 hours,
0:05:48 > 0:05:52I'm led to believe by the doctors, my life was in the balance.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55This was a life-threatening injury.
0:05:55 > 0:05:56Absolutely devastating
0:05:56 > 0:05:59because you think that the person you love is never going to be
0:05:59 > 0:06:03the same again, and you just cannot imagine how life is going to be.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06You've had a life together, you've done lots of things
0:06:06 > 0:06:09and all of a sudden, one split second
0:06:09 > 0:06:12and you feel it's all been taken away from you.
0:06:12 > 0:06:14And you feel nothing will ever be the same again.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17Chris's face was badly burnt.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19He was blinded in one eye
0:06:19 > 0:06:22and surgeons were fighting to save the other.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25The photos from the time are too distressing to show.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28These were taken some months after his first operation.
0:06:33 > 0:06:34While Chris was lying in hospital,
0:06:34 > 0:06:38Edgecombe should have contacted either the local council or
0:06:38 > 0:06:41health and safety officials to report his accident.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46But Robin Wood at Trading Standards in Bath says he was illusive.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52We heard about it three days later via a member of the family
0:06:52 > 0:06:54and when we tried to follow it up,
0:06:54 > 0:06:58we contacted Mr Edgecombe by telephone, by letter,
0:06:58 > 0:07:02by e-mail, we contacted him for several weeks
0:07:02 > 0:07:05and he didn't return the calls at all.
0:07:05 > 0:07:10Eventually, some three months later, we had to go to the lengths
0:07:10 > 0:07:13of getting him arrested in order to get him to answer our questions.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18It turned out there was a reason why Edgecombe hadn't gone to the
0:07:18 > 0:07:21authorities. He was a faker.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26Trading Standards say Edgecombe had faked insurance to get
0:07:26 > 0:07:29hold of the professional grade fireworks that injured Chris,
0:07:29 > 0:07:34and that Edgecombe would never have got those fireworks without it.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37The supplier needs to satisfy themselves that that person
0:07:37 > 0:07:40is a professional, so they do need to see something like
0:07:40 > 0:07:43a liability certificate to prove that that's the case.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48He'd also shown the same fake public liability document to get
0:07:48 > 0:07:51access to the venue where Chris was injured.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55We'd heard from the organisers that they'd seen the document.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59That reassured them obviously that he was competent.
0:07:59 > 0:08:02I don't think they would have allowed Mr Edgecombe to carry
0:08:02 > 0:08:04out the display without the public liability insurance.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08But why had Edgecombe faked his insurance?
0:08:08 > 0:08:12We know he'd been turned down for insurance the previous year
0:08:12 > 0:08:15by all three of the companies that supply this
0:08:15 > 0:08:20type of insurance so he ended up falsifying the insurance to
0:08:20 > 0:08:23make it look as though he did have the competency to carry it out.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29This is the forged public liability document that Edgecombe used.
0:08:29 > 0:08:34The insurance company is genuine, but he faked the details on it.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40It was issued to a company in the north for a different date
0:08:40 > 0:08:41the year previously,
0:08:41 > 0:08:44so what Mr Edgecombe did was that he got hold of that document,
0:08:44 > 0:08:47he managed to change the typeface
0:08:47 > 0:08:49and make it show that he himself had public liability
0:08:49 > 0:08:52insurance by putting his own company details on it.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56Finding out that Edgecombe didn't have insurance was a bitter
0:08:56 > 0:08:58blow for Chris and Wendy.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02Absolutely awful. When I first heard, I just went cold.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04If he hadn't have had the false insurance,
0:09:04 > 0:09:06he would never have got the fireworks.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08None of this would have ever, ever happened
0:09:08 > 0:09:10and our lives would be as they were before.
0:09:10 > 0:09:15The couple say they're still coming to terms with the devastation
0:09:15 > 0:09:19wrought by both the accident and the fake insurance document.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22There have been some difficult times.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24Nobody had told me how badly I looked.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30They had covered up all the mirrors in all the bathrooms on the ward
0:09:30 > 0:09:35so that I couldn't see myself, and towards the end of my stay,
0:09:35 > 0:09:37when I was able to go to the bathroom on my own,
0:09:37 > 0:09:42unfortunately somebody had removed the paper from the mirror
0:09:42 > 0:09:44and before I could do anything about it,
0:09:44 > 0:09:48I saw my reflection in the mirror in the bathroom.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50And there was just a scream from the bathroom
0:09:50 > 0:09:52and I knew that he'd looked in the mirror.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57I shouted, I screamed. It was awful.
0:09:57 > 0:10:02It was far, far worse than I'd imagined it would be.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06For him to suddenly see what had actually happened,
0:10:06 > 0:10:08that was the worst bit, I think, really.
0:10:09 > 0:10:12Absolutely terrible.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15I honestly thought my life as I knew it was gone.
0:10:20 > 0:10:25Chris has had 24 operations to remove over 300 blast fragments,
0:10:25 > 0:10:26and he's blind in his left eye.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32Despite being only too aware of the injuries that Chris has
0:10:32 > 0:10:34suffered, AND having been found guilty in court,
0:10:34 > 0:10:38Edgecombe didn't stop his activities.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40While awaiting sentencing,
0:10:40 > 0:10:43Edgecombe decided to put on another fireworks display.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50Mr Edgecombe promised the court that he was no longer conducting
0:10:50 > 0:10:55fireworks displays, that he was only going to act as an employee.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57But before he was due to be sentenced,
0:10:57 > 0:11:02he was found to be actually carrying out a display in Bridport in Dorset,
0:11:02 > 0:11:07in-between injuring Mr Hignell and when he was due to be sentenced.
0:11:07 > 0:11:13It shows his complete disregard for me, my wife,
0:11:13 > 0:11:17and the court system, that he went and did another large firework
0:11:17 > 0:11:20display despite being told by a judge not to.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25Jason Edgecombe was convicted of fraud and health and safety
0:11:25 > 0:11:30offences, and ordered to pay Chris £5,000, but to this day,
0:11:30 > 0:11:32hasn't paid him a penny.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Edgecombe was eventually sentenced to 36 weeks in prison.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41There's nothing legally to stop Edgecombe from carrying out
0:11:41 > 0:11:44firework displays, and Fake Britain has discovered that
0:11:44 > 0:11:47since the accident, he's set up another fireworks company,
0:11:47 > 0:11:49FireMaster Fireworks.
0:11:49 > 0:11:54He's also been making some interesting claims on his website.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57He says he's never injured a member of his team,
0:11:57 > 0:12:00and that no member of the public has been harmed.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03He also claims that they've never needed to use emergency
0:12:03 > 0:12:04first aid.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07While this might be true for his current company,
0:12:07 > 0:12:09it's certainly not true for the owner.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13Whatever Edgecombe's up to now,
0:12:13 > 0:12:17Chris still has to deal with the aftermath of his actions.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20I honestly thought that, physically,
0:12:20 > 0:12:24that I would look dreadful for the rest of my life.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28I never imagined that the skills of the surgeons around me
0:12:28 > 0:12:32would get me to where I am today.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35Basically, we have to try and just carry on with our life, try
0:12:35 > 0:12:40and put it behind us, which is very difficult, and try and carry on -
0:12:40 > 0:12:43not let that affect our life if we can.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48Jason Edgecombe told us that whilst he regretted what happened...
0:12:53 > 0:12:56He said he believed at the time that Mr Hignell was more competent
0:12:56 > 0:13:00with category four fireworks than it later emerged,
0:13:00 > 0:13:04and claims that Mr Hignell completed a competency questionnaire.
0:13:04 > 0:13:05He says he continued with
0:13:05 > 0:13:07his display after Chris's injury
0:13:07 > 0:13:08because he thought
0:13:08 > 0:13:10this was safer, and says
0:13:10 > 0:13:11he doesn't believe it continued
0:13:11 > 0:13:13for as long as seven minutes.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Mr Edgecombe puts his failure to inform the correct
0:13:17 > 0:13:19authorities of the accident down to naivety.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22He said the only reason he'd conducted a further fireworks
0:13:22 > 0:13:25display after promising the court he wouldn't was
0:13:25 > 0:13:28because he couldn't find anyone else to oversee the show.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32Me Edgecombe says he stands by the claims
0:13:32 > 0:13:34made on the FireMaster Fireworks
0:13:34 > 0:13:35website, saying
0:13:35 > 0:13:36they refer only to THIS company,
0:13:36 > 0:13:38and not to his previous one.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47Lose a badge like this from
0:13:47 > 0:13:49your car and you'll probably try
0:13:49 > 0:13:50and replace it.
0:13:50 > 0:13:51There are plenty of shops and
0:13:51 > 0:13:54online traders only too happy to sell you one.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57Some are quite expensive, others just a few pounds,
0:13:57 > 0:14:01but sell enough of them, and you've got yourself a lucrative business,
0:14:01 > 0:14:04which is why car accessories like this are now a target
0:14:04 > 0:14:08for the fakers. We've been on the road with Trading Standards teams
0:14:08 > 0:14:10cracking down on the problem.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15Britain's Trading Standards departments have the
0:14:15 > 0:14:18job of policing the internet to try and identify
0:14:18 > 0:14:21and then weed out the fakes that are being sold there.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24This morning, a team in the Midlands are meeting up to plan
0:14:24 > 0:14:26their latest operation.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28Today, they're on the trail of a trader
0:14:28 > 0:14:31they suspect to be selling fake car accessories.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36Right, what we've got, we've got an internet based retailer.
0:14:36 > 0:14:37They're selling vehicle
0:14:37 > 0:14:39merchandise and accessories.
0:14:39 > 0:14:40They've got a high turnover,
0:14:40 > 0:14:43suspected counterfeit stock in the last three and a half, four years.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45We've had information that they're
0:14:45 > 0:14:47selling car steering wheel badges,
0:14:47 > 0:14:49logos such as Jaguar.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51None of these are actually authorised for use
0:14:51 > 0:14:54so they're all breaching trademarks legislation.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57These products are poor quality copies.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00The team have already made a test purchase of a car badge which
0:15:00 > 0:15:03they've had confirmed as fake.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05They not only believe the accessories are in breach
0:15:05 > 0:15:09of copyright, but that people are paying good money for them,
0:15:09 > 0:15:13believing them to be real, actually getting a substandard product.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17They even suspect some of the goods might be dangerous.
0:15:17 > 0:15:20We've recently had some information from BMW that
0:15:20 > 0:15:23if someone buys a replacement but fake symbol
0:15:23 > 0:15:28to go in the middle of the steering wheel where the airbag cover is,
0:15:28 > 0:15:30when the airbag goes off,
0:15:30 > 0:15:31that's not attached properly.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35The danger is this symbol will actually be projected
0:15:35 > 0:15:39towards the driver at 220mph so it could be a real safety risk.
0:15:39 > 0:15:40We've checked the test purchases.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44They're confirmed as counterfeit, so if it's got a brand,
0:15:44 > 0:15:47a logo or trademarks, we're seizing it.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51The team make their way to the trading
0:15:51 > 0:15:54estate from which the seller is operating.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58Other officers have arrived before them and entered the unit.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00The business owner is on site
0:16:00 > 0:16:02and Trading Standards explain what's going on.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04Leave us to do what we've got to do.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07If you've got any problems, you come to me.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09The unit is enormous,
0:16:09 > 0:16:13and the team face a daunting task, checking every box for fakes.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16It looks like the team will have a search on their hands to see
0:16:16 > 0:16:19if there are any fake goods amongst the legitimate ones.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23But helpfully, the owner points them
0:16:23 > 0:16:27towards another area of the unit that's nearly all car accessories,
0:16:27 > 0:16:31and Rob Edmunds finds products similar to their test purchase
0:16:31 > 0:16:34which triggered the whole investigation.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38They soon turn up hundreds of branded car badges,
0:16:38 > 0:16:39exactly what they were looking for.
0:16:41 > 0:16:47You've got every type of motor vehicle badge you can think of.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51Every brand, Alfa Romeo down to Vauxhall.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54There's so many different brands. There's a lot of stuff in there.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57The majority of that room will be seized.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59My guess would be the vast majority,
0:16:59 > 0:17:02if not all, of the motor branded parts that we seize will
0:17:02 > 0:17:04actually turn out to be counterfeit,
0:17:04 > 0:17:07but we'll have to run that past the brand owners first.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11The suspect goods are coming thick and fast now.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14As well as the car badges, there are spare wheel guards.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18Not all have car marks on them, but any that do will be leaving
0:17:18 > 0:17:22with Trading Standards for further investigation.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24And they find what they believe might be evidence that
0:17:24 > 0:17:28someone is making their own fakes to order from scratch.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32- These are being stuck on here. - They are, they are.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36This is what we found in a drawer
0:17:36 > 0:17:37in one of the offices,
0:17:37 > 0:17:41and it's a drawer full of printed labels for a wide
0:17:41 > 0:17:45variety of brands such as Suzuki, Freelander, Discovery, er,
0:17:45 > 0:17:48all the major car brands. And what we think he's doing is,
0:17:48 > 0:17:51this is what he's putting onto his wheel covers
0:17:51 > 0:17:54so the fact that we've got a large amount of blank wheel
0:17:54 > 0:17:58covers in the storage shows us how he's actually making them
0:17:58 > 0:17:59to people's orders,
0:17:59 > 0:18:03so he's just sticking these on when they need them, so the whole cabinet
0:18:03 > 0:18:06unit with these brand labels in, will be seized and taken away.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09As well as the accessories themselves,
0:18:09 > 0:18:13Rob turns up what he believes could be crucial documentary evidence.
0:18:13 > 0:18:14While we've been in the office,
0:18:14 > 0:18:17obviously we've been looking for potential suppliers
0:18:17 > 0:18:20and we've found all the documentation that we believe relates to the
0:18:20 > 0:18:21products that we're seizing.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23So it's going to be important to establish where
0:18:23 > 0:18:26it's coming from, how long he's been purchasing it,
0:18:26 > 0:18:28and the quantities as well that are involved.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31He's just said, "You're taking thousands of pounds worth of goods."
0:18:31 > 0:18:33I said, "Well, we're taking items we believe infringe
0:18:33 > 0:18:36"the Trade Marks Act, or that there are safety concerns over."
0:18:36 > 0:18:38The find is still growing.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41The team believe all these items are being offered on sale to the
0:18:41 > 0:18:43public as the real thing.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45These are Jaguar hood ornaments.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49Soon, the team's own van isn't big enough.
0:18:54 > 0:18:59A larger vehicle arrives. But even that might be too small.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01Whatever trade is going on in this facility,
0:19:01 > 0:19:03the turnover is significant.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08And it doesn't take too long to fill the second van.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14The team get a third lorry and it takes
0:19:14 > 0:19:18so long to load that by the time they're finished, it's getting dark.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24Now it's time to take the whole load off to an undisclosed storage
0:19:24 > 0:19:27area, and with that, it's job done.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30Are we going to get it all in, do you reckon?
0:19:30 > 0:19:34A successful day for the team who've taken a huge amount of suspect
0:19:34 > 0:19:37gear off the market and out of harm's way.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40They'll continue to investigate what they've found.
0:19:41 > 0:19:44So, everything is locked away securely
0:19:44 > 0:19:46and the next step is to complete our investigation
0:19:46 > 0:19:49and bring a prosecution that we're pleased that we've got such
0:19:49 > 0:19:52a large quantity of fake goods off the marketplace.
0:19:57 > 0:19:58COINS RATTLE
0:19:58 > 0:20:00The reaction of many people to seeing
0:20:00 > 0:20:04one of these on the street is very simple. You give.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08We are a very generous nation when it comes to charity,
0:20:08 > 0:20:12and millions of pounds are collected every year for good causes in
0:20:12 > 0:20:15charity boxes but, as Fake Britain has discovered,
0:20:15 > 0:20:19this can be a target for the fakers.
0:20:23 > 0:20:25There can be few crimes more heartless than
0:20:25 > 0:20:29stealing from a charity, but we've seen before on Fake Britain how
0:20:29 > 0:20:35people still take advantage, even stealing clothes from charity bins.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39But this is not the only way that charitable donations are being
0:20:39 > 0:20:41intercepted by fakers...
0:20:44 > 0:20:46..as Don Young discovered.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50He was out one night for a drink in his local with a friend.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53As they were chatting, a woman entered the pub,
0:20:53 > 0:20:57saying she was collecting for the Marie Curie Cancer Care charity.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01Something about the way she was rattling her tin worried Don.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07Her whole attitude didn't seem to match up with what
0:21:07 > 0:21:10I would expect a charity collector to be like.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12She didn't come up to the table and say, "Oh, good evening,
0:21:12 > 0:21:15"gentlemen, sorry to interrupt your conversation, but I'm
0:21:15 > 0:21:19"collecting on behalf of the Marie Curie Cancer Care Charity and..."
0:21:19 > 0:21:20Nothing like that at all.
0:21:20 > 0:21:25It was just a very quick mumble, pointed the tin, and then as soon as
0:21:25 > 0:21:28she'd done the business, she was off like a rabbit.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32And Don's suspicions grew when, a few weeks later, he ran
0:21:32 > 0:21:37into the same collectors again in another pub in the same area.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40This time, he rang Marie Curie to check their credentials.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42I asked them
0:21:42 > 0:21:45if they had any collectors operating in that area in pubs.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49They said no, but they were aware of a scam going on and told me
0:21:49 > 0:21:52that the police were in the process of gathering evidence.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58Hampshire police were indeed investigating.
0:21:58 > 0:22:03Detective constable Julio Pitso had been assigned to the case.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06He'd been hearing complaints from other members of the public
0:22:06 > 0:22:09about a group claiming to be collecting for Marie Curie.
0:22:09 > 0:22:14One of the complainants had actually worked for Marie Curie Cancer Care.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17She was aware as an employee that there was no designated
0:22:17 > 0:22:20fundraising activity in the area at the time,
0:22:20 > 0:22:23and she was also aware that this person was collecting in a manner
0:22:23 > 0:22:26that is not designated to be a proper
0:22:26 > 0:22:30method of collection by Marie Curie Cancer Care,
0:22:30 > 0:22:32or any other charity for that matter,
0:22:32 > 0:22:34and that is primarily shaking tins in people's faces.
0:22:36 > 0:22:41She rang the phone number on the ID badge of the woman collecting.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44It rang the phone of this man, Gordon Coe.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47But when police spoke to Marie Curie about him,
0:22:47 > 0:22:51he was known to the charity as a legitimate collector.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54He had applied to Marie Curie Cancer Care in December
0:22:54 > 0:22:57of 2008 to become a fundraiser for them.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01Marie Curie Cancer Care attended his home address and vetted him
0:23:01 > 0:23:03in line with their policies.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06But two years after registering with the charity,
0:23:06 > 0:23:09Coe had only banked £75 with them.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12With suspicions starting to fall on him,
0:23:12 > 0:23:15the charity looked back through its records.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18They found Coe had attended one of their previous fundraising
0:23:18 > 0:23:20events and he hadn't been there alone.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23He brought two members of the public with him which he
0:23:23 > 0:23:24introduced as friends.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28One of those was Pauline Hunt and the other was Susan Christians.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31The descriptions that concerned members of the public had
0:23:31 > 0:23:36given the police matched Susan Christians and Pauline Hunt.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39A week later, Don Young was out again with a friend
0:23:39 > 0:23:43when he saw the same woman collecting in a third pub.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45I thought she had a bit of a cheek trying her
0:23:45 > 0:23:49luck in a number of different places. She was fairly easily recognisable.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52She had obviously an accomplice in a car.
0:23:53 > 0:23:57This time, Don decided to get the police involved.
0:23:57 > 0:23:59He was sharp enough to be able to take
0:23:59 > 0:24:03the registration of the vehicle and he passed that onto the police.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06Ben Chapman was the man driving the car.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08When police checked his movements later on,
0:24:08 > 0:24:11a pattern started to emerge.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16We could plot the movements of the vehicle to tie in with
0:24:16 > 0:24:22the collections at various pubs in the Caterham and Woldingham areas.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26Police decided to take action of their own.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28They arrested the collectors
0:24:28 > 0:24:30and executed warrants on their properties.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33What they found during their search staggered them.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38We found a number of different charity tins, in total,
0:24:38 > 0:24:43around about 15 to 20, all branded as Marie Curie Cancer Care.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46Coe had taken the boxes given to him and copied them,
0:24:46 > 0:24:48faking the charities' branding.
0:24:48 > 0:24:49But that wasn't all he faked.
0:24:51 > 0:24:56We found false documentation and false identification on lanyards.
0:24:58 > 0:25:03Finally, police knew the full extent of what Gordon Coe had been up to.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06He'd recruited a gang of his own collectors using the fake IDs
0:25:06 > 0:25:10and collection tins to open the purses of unsuspecting pub-goers
0:25:10 > 0:25:12across the south-east of England.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18In total, the fake collectors gang turned people's generosity
0:25:18 > 0:25:23into a criminal profit of over £34,000.
0:25:24 > 0:25:28It became clear to us that this was certainly an organised syndicate.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31What they would do is identify an area, then search
0:25:31 > 0:25:34the area for various pubs and go and collect at those pubs.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37They'd do various routes of an evening which would
0:25:37 > 0:25:39tie in with our witness accounts saying that
0:25:39 > 0:25:41they left at four, five o'clock in the afternoon and were
0:25:41 > 0:25:46back by sort of one, sometimes as late as two o'clock in the morning.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48Police say they were spending that money,
0:25:48 > 0:25:52money that should've gone to cancer patients, on expensive
0:25:52 > 0:25:56holidays abroad to places like the Dominican Republic, and Greece,
0:25:56 > 0:25:58despite the fact that most of them didn't have jobs.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04Police interviews confirmed the gang's involvement further.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08This is a recording of Susan Christians cracking under pressure.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11"So, this is a right little organised crime syndicate,
0:26:11 > 0:26:12"isn't it, really?"
0:26:21 > 0:26:24Susan, it's not my job to judge what you've done,
0:26:24 > 0:26:27it's just my job to investigate what's happened.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31But the guilt didn't last long,
0:26:31 > 0:26:34and the police had a fight on their hands.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37ALL the gang claimed they were innocent, in court.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40They just pleaded ignorance, saying,
0:26:40 > 0:26:44"We went to collect because Gordon Coe asked us to and on that basis,
0:26:44 > 0:26:48"when we came back, we emptied the charity tins and took what we
0:26:48 > 0:26:50"thought was our fair share."
0:26:50 > 0:26:52The jury took a different view.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57It was blatantly obvious that it wasn't within
0:26:57 > 0:27:02the scope of a reasonable person to collect on behalf of a charity
0:27:02 > 0:27:06and take what you think are your legitimate earnings without so much
0:27:06 > 0:27:08as an invoice, without so much as a receipt,
0:27:08 > 0:27:09without so much as an audit trail.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13Coe was sentenced to four years in jail.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16The rest of the gang all received prison sentences.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23Marie Curie Cancer Care is far from the only charity
0:27:23 > 0:27:26affected by fake collectors.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30Charities as diverse as Cancer Relief UK, Cerebral Palsy Care
0:27:30 > 0:27:34for children, and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance have all been hit
0:27:34 > 0:27:35by fake collectors.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38But Sophie Kinsman, head of fundraising
0:27:38 > 0:27:42at Marie Curie Cancer Care, says cases like this are still rare.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47All charities have security procedures in place to ensure
0:27:47 > 0:27:50the safety of the public's donations.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54No voluntary fundraiser would be offended if you asked them
0:27:54 > 0:27:56for proof of their identity
0:27:56 > 0:27:59and for a number to call where you could check their credentials.
0:27:59 > 0:28:03If you're at all unsure, please check with the charity or go
0:28:03 > 0:28:05to their website for further information.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08If you're approached in a public house,
0:28:08 > 0:28:12or similar environment that doesn't have a designated event,
0:28:12 > 0:28:15shaking tins in people's faces, asking for money,
0:28:15 > 0:28:17is against the codes of practice.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20So, that should be one of the biggest clues.
0:28:20 > 0:28:22Charity collecting is just not done in this way.
0:28:28 > 0:28:30That's all from Fake Britain. Goodbye.