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Welcome to a world where nothing is quite as it seems. | 0:00:02 | 0:00:06 | |
Welcome to Fake Britain. | 0:00:06 | 0:00:07 | |
Police! Move out the way! | 0:00:09 | 0:00:10 | |
-Get down! Get down! -Get on the floor now. | 0:00:20 | 0:00:22 | |
Put your hands behind your back now. | 0:00:22 | 0:00:24 | |
Here at the Fake Britain house, things might look familiar, | 0:00:25 | 0:00:28 | |
but don't be taken in | 0:00:28 | 0:00:30 | |
because this is a house that's filled with fakes. | 0:00:30 | 0:00:33 | |
In this series, I'll be revealing the counterfeits, copies and cons | 0:00:33 | 0:00:37 | |
that are flooding the market, fooling the public, | 0:00:37 | 0:00:40 | |
making money for the criminals and maybe even putting you in danger. | 0:00:40 | 0:00:44 | |
We'll be investigating those fraudsters | 0:00:44 | 0:00:46 | |
who are cashing in by selling us something that isn't real, | 0:00:46 | 0:00:50 | |
and we'll be showing you how to avoid falling for a fake. | 0:00:50 | 0:00:54 | |
Today, on Fake Britain, | 0:00:57 | 0:00:58 | |
the fake bike helmets that won't keep you safe. | 0:00:58 | 0:01:01 | |
This helmet could not have failed in a worse way. | 0:01:02 | 0:01:05 | |
The counterfeit pesticides heading for UK farms. | 0:01:05 | 0:01:09 | |
We actually don't know what's inside them. | 0:01:09 | 0:01:11 | |
They might pose a health risk, they might be carcinogenic. | 0:01:11 | 0:01:14 | |
The dodgy guitars that rock the music industry. | 0:01:14 | 0:01:18 | |
I'd been duped. | 0:01:18 | 0:01:19 | |
Clearly the guitar was a fake. | 0:01:19 | 0:01:22 | |
And the fake supermarket saving stamps | 0:01:22 | 0:01:24 | |
that won't help you out on a rainy day. | 0:01:24 | 0:01:27 | |
There is £1,000 on each one of these. | 0:01:27 | 0:01:30 | |
There's nothing obvious on it that would say they're fake. | 0:01:30 | 0:01:32 | |
Wearing a helmet | 0:01:38 | 0:01:39 | |
when you're riding a bicycle might seem like good common sense. | 0:01:39 | 0:01:43 | |
In some countries, such as Australia, it's now also the law, | 0:01:43 | 0:01:46 | |
you have to wear one. | 0:01:46 | 0:01:48 | |
A helmet might save your life in a crash. | 0:01:48 | 0:01:51 | |
But this bike helmet is fake, | 0:01:51 | 0:01:53 | |
it's a counterfeit of this one. | 0:01:53 | 0:01:56 | |
It's dangerous and part of a growing industry | 0:01:56 | 0:01:59 | |
where the fakers are trying to make money out of the success of cycling. | 0:01:59 | 0:02:02 | |
With 19,000 cyclists injured or killed every year, | 0:02:04 | 0:02:08 | |
wearing protective headgear is crucial for most riders. | 0:02:08 | 0:02:12 | |
The Department Of Transport recently claimed bike helmets | 0:02:15 | 0:02:18 | |
could prevent up to 16% of the fatalities on Britain's roads. | 0:02:18 | 0:02:22 | |
But it seems the fakers are now riding on the back of the trend too. | 0:02:25 | 0:02:29 | |
More worryingly, cyclists are buying counterfeit headgear | 0:02:30 | 0:02:33 | |
thinking it offers protection when it may not... | 0:02:33 | 0:02:37 | |
as Andrew McCreery discovered | 0:02:37 | 0:02:39 | |
when he found a bike helmet, supposedly made by Giro, online. | 0:02:39 | 0:02:43 | |
It was a product which I had already had for myself personally. | 0:02:45 | 0:02:49 | |
Seemed to be of good quality, seemed good value for money | 0:02:49 | 0:02:53 | |
and it was just a brand | 0:02:53 | 0:02:54 | |
which we had recognised as widely used in the cycling world, | 0:02:54 | 0:02:57 | |
so we presumed that would probably be the safest bet. | 0:02:57 | 0:03:00 | |
Andrew and his wife, Joanne, | 0:03:03 | 0:03:04 | |
were training for a 130-mile cycle ride around Northern Ireland | 0:03:04 | 0:03:09 | |
to raise money for charity, so they needed the right equipment. | 0:03:09 | 0:03:13 | |
And this event was very personal for them. | 0:03:15 | 0:03:18 | |
Tragically, in September 2012, we had a son who was stillborn. | 0:03:18 | 0:03:23 | |
Zach. | 0:03:25 | 0:03:27 | |
He died just a few days before his due date | 0:03:27 | 0:03:30 | |
and we wanted to do a cycle ride in his memory. | 0:03:30 | 0:03:34 | |
The Giro helmet they'd found for this important bike ride | 0:03:36 | 0:03:39 | |
was being sold by a third-party seller on Amazon for £35. | 0:03:39 | 0:03:44 | |
We were saving £10-£15 in comparison to the retail stores, | 0:03:46 | 0:03:49 | |
so we decided, well, let's give that a go. | 0:03:49 | 0:03:52 | |
That's £10 extra for the charity. | 0:03:52 | 0:03:54 | |
Two weeks went by and the helmet hadn't arrived. | 0:03:56 | 0:03:59 | |
When Andrew chased the Amazon seller, | 0:03:59 | 0:04:02 | |
he was disturbed by what he discovered. | 0:04:02 | 0:04:04 | |
We realised that, although it was a UK seller, | 0:04:06 | 0:04:08 | |
it was a China dispatch, | 0:04:08 | 0:04:10 | |
and we were informed that, in the small print, | 0:04:10 | 0:04:12 | |
that it could be 3-4 weeks before we would expect delivery. | 0:04:12 | 0:04:15 | |
So I suppose alarm bells started to ring at this stage. | 0:04:15 | 0:04:17 | |
But, when the helmet arrived, Andrew had more reason to worry. | 0:04:20 | 0:04:23 | |
The initial concern was the weight whenever we took the helmet | 0:04:25 | 0:04:28 | |
out of the box that it seemed to be much lighter than other Giro helmets. | 0:04:28 | 0:04:32 | |
It was seen to be a really light-foam quality | 0:04:32 | 0:04:35 | |
with some type of cheap plastic veneer over the top of it | 0:04:35 | 0:04:38 | |
which really wasn't meeting the edges in the correct places. | 0:04:38 | 0:04:41 | |
We were absolutely adamant that this just shouldn't be used at all, | 0:04:43 | 0:04:46 | |
that the only place this helmet was really fit to go was to the bin. | 0:04:46 | 0:04:50 | |
And that's where he put it. | 0:04:50 | 0:04:51 | |
The manufacturer Giro confirmed to Andrew that it was a fake | 0:04:51 | 0:04:56 | |
and, eventually, he got his money back. | 0:04:56 | 0:04:59 | |
Amazon told us - | 0:04:59 | 0:05:01 | |
They also said - | 0:05:14 | 0:05:16 | |
Worryingly, though, the counterfeits are still out there. | 0:05:20 | 0:05:23 | |
Fake Britain managed to buy another suspected fake Giro helmet | 0:05:23 | 0:05:27 | |
very similar to the one Andrew bought | 0:05:27 | 0:05:30 | |
from a totally different website. | 0:05:30 | 0:05:32 | |
We took our suspected fake to INSPEC in Manchester. | 0:05:34 | 0:05:38 | |
One of the UK's leading test houses for headgear, | 0:05:38 | 0:05:41 | |
they've agreed to compare it to the original, genuine Giro product | 0:05:41 | 0:05:45 | |
to see if the fake would pass European safety standards. | 0:05:45 | 0:05:49 | |
If we compare the products, looking at the original, | 0:05:49 | 0:05:53 | |
we have one design for the retention system adjustment | 0:05:53 | 0:05:58 | |
and we have a very different design on the suspected fake. | 0:05:58 | 0:06:02 | |
Similarly, for the side buckles, we have one design on the original | 0:06:02 | 0:06:08 | |
and a different design on the suspected fake. | 0:06:08 | 0:06:11 | |
At this point, that doesn't enable us to draw any conclusions | 0:06:12 | 0:06:15 | |
but it's something that obviously the end user can look for | 0:06:15 | 0:06:19 | |
if they're comparing the product. | 0:06:19 | 0:06:21 | |
Andrew and his team will run tests to check that the helmets | 0:06:23 | 0:06:27 | |
comply with the legally-required European standard | 0:06:27 | 0:06:30 | |
for bicycle headgear, EN 1078. | 0:06:30 | 0:06:33 | |
To begin with, the genuine product | 0:06:35 | 0:06:37 | |
will be put through its paces in a series of real-life scenarios. | 0:06:37 | 0:06:41 | |
Firstly, they'll measure its performance | 0:06:43 | 0:06:45 | |
when dropped onto this anvil shaped like a kerbstone. | 0:06:45 | 0:06:48 | |
The test simulates a head, in this case, hitting the kerbstone. | 0:06:49 | 0:06:53 | |
The standard for the shock absorption test includes | 0:06:53 | 0:06:57 | |
a maximum permitted acceleration of 250g. | 0:06:57 | 0:07:00 | |
So for each of the impacts that we're going to perform, | 0:07:00 | 0:07:03 | |
we'll be looking to make sure that the helmet | 0:07:03 | 0:07:05 | |
gives a value which is lower than that maximum. | 0:07:05 | 0:07:08 | |
OK, so let's see how the genuine Giro performs. | 0:07:08 | 0:07:12 | |
CLATTERING | 0:07:14 | 0:07:15 | |
And the result that we've got is 82.3g, | 0:07:15 | 0:07:19 | |
which is well below the 250g limit specified by the standard. | 0:07:19 | 0:07:23 | |
Next up, how will the genuine product cope | 0:07:23 | 0:07:26 | |
when hitting a flat, road-like surface? | 0:07:26 | 0:07:28 | |
So we've got a result of 187.3g | 0:07:34 | 0:07:37 | |
which is still well below the limit of 250g. | 0:07:37 | 0:07:41 | |
That's good performance. | 0:07:41 | 0:07:43 | |
So that's a pass, as expected, for our genuine Giro helmet. | 0:07:43 | 0:07:47 | |
Has the suspected fake got any chance of matching it? | 0:07:51 | 0:07:54 | |
First up, it's the kerbstone test. | 0:07:56 | 0:07:58 | |
That's a terrible result. | 0:08:13 | 0:08:15 | |
As you can see from the helmet, it's actually split in two. | 0:08:15 | 0:08:18 | |
The value that we've recorded is 1209.8g, | 0:08:19 | 0:08:24 | |
many times the maximum permitted by the standard. | 0:08:24 | 0:08:27 | |
That's nearly five times over the golden 250g safety limit. | 0:08:28 | 0:08:32 | |
And, from Andrew, the news just gets worse. | 0:08:33 | 0:08:36 | |
Unfortunately that's also exceeded the maximum that we can record | 0:08:36 | 0:08:40 | |
with our equipment, so the value could even be higher than that, | 0:08:40 | 0:08:42 | |
which is terrible. | 0:08:42 | 0:08:44 | |
I think we can be fairly confident that it is absolutely a fake and, | 0:08:44 | 0:08:48 | |
in practice, that would result in a catastrophic injury for the wearer. | 0:08:48 | 0:08:51 | |
The fake's failed so badly that it can't continue. | 0:08:53 | 0:08:56 | |
Normally we would be able to perform a second impact. | 0:08:57 | 0:08:59 | |
Clearly, in this case, we can't do that. | 0:09:01 | 0:09:03 | |
The lab's test rig is also damaged. | 0:09:03 | 0:09:05 | |
You can actually see where the kerbstone | 0:09:06 | 0:09:09 | |
has hit straight onto the headform | 0:09:09 | 0:09:11 | |
and put an indentation in the test headform. | 0:09:11 | 0:09:14 | |
If that were somebody's skull, then that would not be very nice. | 0:09:15 | 0:09:17 | |
Should you have an accident, there would be | 0:09:19 | 0:09:22 | |
potentially very, very serious consequences. | 0:09:22 | 0:09:24 | |
So we took our results | 0:09:28 | 0:09:30 | |
to one of Britain's leading brain injury centres, | 0:09:30 | 0:09:33 | |
the National Hospital For Neurology And Neurosurgery in London. | 0:09:33 | 0:09:37 | |
What does neurosurgeon Lewis Thorne | 0:09:40 | 0:09:43 | |
think of the performance of the fake helmet? | 0:09:43 | 0:09:45 | |
This has fractured at the side. | 0:09:46 | 0:09:50 | |
You can just see that the ear would be in this space here, | 0:09:50 | 0:09:52 | |
and where this comes away here | 0:09:52 | 0:09:55 | |
would expose the side of the head | 0:09:55 | 0:09:56 | |
which is actually the thinnest part of the skull | 0:09:56 | 0:09:59 | |
and most susceptible to fracture. | 0:09:59 | 0:10:01 | |
Lying underneath that area is one of the main arteries | 0:10:01 | 0:10:04 | |
beneath the bone, | 0:10:04 | 0:10:05 | |
and if that's damaged with a fracture of the skull, | 0:10:05 | 0:10:08 | |
that'll cause high-pressure bleeding over the surface of the brain, | 0:10:08 | 0:10:11 | |
rapidly putting pressure on the brain, | 0:10:11 | 0:10:13 | |
and it's the kind of thing that, | 0:10:13 | 0:10:15 | |
if it doesn't get urgent surgical treatment, is undoubtedly fatal. | 0:10:15 | 0:10:19 | |
This helmet could not have failed in a worse way. | 0:10:19 | 0:10:21 | |
And Lewis is shocked by the discovery of fake bike helmets | 0:10:24 | 0:10:27 | |
like this on the market. | 0:10:27 | 0:10:28 | |
Brain injuries are devastating. | 0:10:30 | 0:10:33 | |
They are the leading cause of death in young adults | 0:10:33 | 0:10:36 | |
and, as far as I'm concerned, helmets save lives. | 0:10:36 | 0:10:40 | |
And if you've got a helmet like this, | 0:10:40 | 0:10:43 | |
that's not going to save your life. | 0:10:43 | 0:10:45 | |
To find that people are prepared to put other people's lives at risk | 0:10:45 | 0:10:49 | |
for the sake of a small profit is totally reprehensible. | 0:10:49 | 0:10:53 | |
Saving stamps have been around for years in the UK. | 0:10:59 | 0:11:02 | |
As long ago as 1880, penny and postage stamps | 0:11:02 | 0:11:06 | |
were bought by people for their Post Office savings accounts, | 0:11:06 | 0:11:09 | |
and saving stamps are still sold in high-street stores and supermarkets. | 0:11:09 | 0:11:14 | |
Thousands of people collect them. | 0:11:14 | 0:11:16 | |
The problem is the fakers have gone into the saving stamps business too. | 0:11:17 | 0:11:21 | |
In these times of austerity, some supermarkets have reported | 0:11:25 | 0:11:28 | |
a rise of up to 40% in people buying into their saving stamp schemes. | 0:11:28 | 0:11:33 | |
When times are hard, people like to use them | 0:11:35 | 0:11:37 | |
to save for their weekly food shop | 0:11:37 | 0:11:39 | |
or for Christmas presents for the kids. | 0:11:39 | 0:11:42 | |
Money is tight for everyone, so | 0:11:42 | 0:11:44 | |
if you can prepare yourself enough by using saving stamps, it helps. | 0:11:44 | 0:11:51 | |
When you've got a young family, it's easier to put money away each week. | 0:11:51 | 0:11:55 | |
The problem is that the fakers want a piece of the market too, | 0:11:58 | 0:12:02 | |
as Nottinghamshire Police are about to find out. | 0:12:02 | 0:12:04 | |
They're on the trail of counterfeit saver stamps | 0:12:06 | 0:12:09 | |
from one of Britain's biggest supermarket chains - Morrisons. | 0:12:09 | 0:12:13 | |
We're en route to Coventry. | 0:12:15 | 0:12:17 | |
The Border Agency | 0:12:18 | 0:12:21 | |
have intercepted a package of stamps to a value of £25,000. | 0:12:21 | 0:12:28 | |
Detective Constable Glenn Finbow | 0:12:30 | 0:12:32 | |
suspects organised crime could be behind this hoard. | 0:12:32 | 0:12:36 | |
I doubt this is a one-man operation or a one-person operation. | 0:12:36 | 0:12:40 | |
One person can't go into a superstore | 0:12:40 | 0:12:43 | |
and cash in £25,000 worth of stamps in one hit. | 0:12:43 | 0:12:47 | |
It's got to be, potentially, nationwide. | 0:12:47 | 0:12:50 | |
It seems the fakers are targeting saving stamps | 0:12:53 | 0:12:56 | |
because they can be used like cash. | 0:12:56 | 0:12:58 | |
Unwitting shoppers have been duped into buying them too. | 0:13:00 | 0:13:02 | |
One woman was recently arrested for trying to use fakes in Tesco. | 0:13:03 | 0:13:07 | |
Back at Coventry postal hub, | 0:13:10 | 0:13:12 | |
Nottinghamshire Police have taken delivery | 0:13:12 | 0:13:15 | |
of £25,000 worth of saving stamps. | 0:13:15 | 0:13:18 | |
So what do they make of them? | 0:13:19 | 0:13:20 | |
We've seized this one package which has obviously... | 0:13:22 | 0:13:25 | |
It's got Chinese writing on it. | 0:13:25 | 0:13:27 | |
It's come from China to an address in Nottinghamshire. | 0:13:27 | 0:13:30 | |
It seems the fakers are using cheap Chinese counterfeiters | 0:13:32 | 0:13:35 | |
to do their dirty work and avoid UK law. | 0:13:35 | 0:13:38 | |
But the arrival of this seemingly-innocuous parcel | 0:13:40 | 0:13:42 | |
from the Far East | 0:13:42 | 0:13:43 | |
raised suspicions at customs. | 0:13:43 | 0:13:46 | |
Border Force picked this up initially | 0:13:46 | 0:13:48 | |
because it is such a small package for such a large supermarket chain | 0:13:48 | 0:13:52 | |
and it's not actually going to any Morrisons store, | 0:13:52 | 0:13:55 | |
it's going to the home address of someone else in Nottingham. | 0:13:55 | 0:13:58 | |
So it's back to base for Glenn and his colleagues | 0:14:01 | 0:14:04 | |
with their counterfeit hoard. | 0:14:04 | 0:14:05 | |
Now they're out of the package, they can take a closer look | 0:14:07 | 0:14:11 | |
alongside some genuine Morrisons saving stamps. | 0:14:11 | 0:14:13 | |
These are forgeries, these are the originals. | 0:14:15 | 0:14:19 | |
-I'll tell you what, it's not bad, is it? -It's not bad at all. | 0:14:19 | 0:14:22 | |
-It's very good. -That is a pretty good... | 0:14:23 | 0:14:25 | |
-Yeah, I wouldn't be able to tell. -Fake. | 0:14:25 | 0:14:27 | |
So, Glenn and his colleagues are surprised by their quality. | 0:14:27 | 0:14:31 | |
But, side-by-side, next to the genuine saving stamps, | 0:14:31 | 0:14:35 | |
they have spotted some differences. | 0:14:35 | 0:14:37 | |
-That's a darker yellow. -Yes. -A more golden colour. | 0:14:37 | 0:14:42 | |
The genuine ones are slightly brighter yellow | 0:14:42 | 0:14:45 | |
and the Morrisons logo behind it it's quite light on these | 0:14:45 | 0:14:48 | |
and not quite as light on the fakes. | 0:14:48 | 0:14:51 | |
And it's the same size, same perforation, | 0:14:51 | 0:14:54 | |
the font sizes are the same. | 0:14:54 | 0:14:56 | |
If someone gave me one of those, I would have no clue. | 0:14:56 | 0:14:59 | |
-There's nothing obvious on it that would say they're fake. -No. | 0:14:59 | 0:15:01 | |
You could probably buy several flatscreen TVs | 0:15:02 | 0:15:05 | |
with each of these small bundles. | 0:15:05 | 0:15:08 | |
There's £1,000 on each one of these. | 0:15:08 | 0:15:11 | |
They're all sequential numbering, | 0:15:11 | 0:15:13 | |
starting at 3201, 3202, all the way through. | 0:15:13 | 0:15:17 | |
And it ends in 4200. | 0:15:17 | 0:15:20 | |
There's 1,000 numbers in this bundle. | 0:15:20 | 0:15:24 | |
£1,000 worth of stamps. | 0:15:24 | 0:15:26 | |
And if Border Force hadn't intercepted this small package, | 0:15:26 | 0:15:30 | |
Morrisons would have paid the price. | 0:15:30 | 0:15:32 | |
If these went out into the open market | 0:15:33 | 0:15:35 | |
and back into Morrisons, Morrisons would be £25,000 down. | 0:15:35 | 0:15:39 | |
It turns out these aren't the only fakes that have been found. | 0:15:42 | 0:15:45 | |
Morrisons say that - | 0:15:47 | 0:15:49 | |
They advise all customers that - | 0:16:02 | 0:16:05 | |
But in the meantime, Glenn and his fellow officers | 0:16:10 | 0:16:12 | |
will follow up the leads they have on the packaging. | 0:16:12 | 0:16:15 | |
We've obtained a few more intelligence details | 0:16:16 | 0:16:19 | |
off of the actual box itself. | 0:16:19 | 0:16:21 | |
A couple of names, couple of addresses. | 0:16:21 | 0:16:24 | |
We'll be doing some intelligence-led police work | 0:16:24 | 0:16:27 | |
and see what avenue they lead us down. | 0:16:27 | 0:16:29 | |
The police investigation is ongoing. | 0:16:32 | 0:16:35 | |
Earlier we saw how fake bike helmets on the market | 0:16:43 | 0:16:46 | |
are putting lives in danger. | 0:16:46 | 0:16:49 | |
If you've got a helmet like this, that's not going to save your life. | 0:16:49 | 0:16:53 | |
Well, Fake Britain has been alerted to another dodgy batch of helmets. | 0:16:53 | 0:16:56 | |
This time heading for real bikers - motorcyclists. | 0:16:57 | 0:17:01 | |
26 were recently seized by Trading Standards. | 0:17:02 | 0:17:05 | |
Today they've brought them | 0:17:06 | 0:17:08 | |
to the British Standards Institution, or BSI, | 0:17:08 | 0:17:10 | |
to see if they comply with European or British safety standards, | 0:17:10 | 0:17:14 | |
as all motorcycle headgear must do under UK law. | 0:17:14 | 0:17:18 | |
What we want to find out is whether these are safe or not, | 0:17:19 | 0:17:23 | |
so BSI are carrying out some tests for us on the safety of the helmets | 0:17:23 | 0:17:27 | |
and also on the safety of the visors themselves. | 0:17:27 | 0:17:29 | |
The visor suggests it complies with European standards | 0:17:31 | 0:17:35 | |
but lab manager Mark Mayo suspects this is a fake claim. | 0:17:35 | 0:17:40 | |
The visor says that it's homologated to E22-05 | 0:17:40 | 0:17:44 | |
but it is not the correct terminology for that standard. | 0:17:44 | 0:17:49 | |
So the makers can't even quote the correct standard, | 0:17:49 | 0:17:52 | |
which should read ECE 22.05. | 0:17:52 | 0:17:56 | |
Nevertheless, the BSI is going to see | 0:17:58 | 0:18:00 | |
if the claim made on this helmet is fake | 0:18:00 | 0:18:03 | |
with a series of tests on the visor. | 0:18:03 | 0:18:06 | |
The test we're going to show you now is the abrasion test. | 0:18:06 | 0:18:09 | |
It's to simulate whether a visor is scratch... | 0:18:09 | 0:18:11 | |
how scratch resistant it is and whether or not, | 0:18:11 | 0:18:14 | |
over a period of time, | 0:18:14 | 0:18:15 | |
the visor will still be able to be viewed through. | 0:18:15 | 0:18:18 | |
As Trading Standards watch on, a square section is removed. | 0:18:21 | 0:18:25 | |
This will now be subjected to the kind of wear and tear | 0:18:25 | 0:18:28 | |
a motorcycle visor could get during its lifetime. | 0:18:28 | 0:18:31 | |
We're going to drop sand on it which simulates particles | 0:18:34 | 0:18:37 | |
hitting the visor when it's actually in use. | 0:18:37 | 0:18:40 | |
We'll then see how much effect that has | 0:18:41 | 0:18:43 | |
on the transparency of the visor. | 0:18:43 | 0:18:46 | |
After 5kg of falling sand, | 0:18:50 | 0:18:53 | |
the sample is taken to another lab for a diffusion test. | 0:18:53 | 0:18:56 | |
Here, a laser is aimed at the visor to measure the amount of light | 0:18:57 | 0:19:01 | |
that gets through after the abrasion. | 0:19:01 | 0:19:04 | |
The results were five times the limit, so that's a definite fail. | 0:19:04 | 0:19:08 | |
What this means is that by the time the visor is coming towards | 0:19:08 | 0:19:12 | |
the end of its life, | 0:19:12 | 0:19:13 | |
the motorcyclist won't even be able to see through it properly | 0:19:13 | 0:19:16 | |
and it is not... Basically not fit for purpose. | 0:19:16 | 0:19:20 | |
So the claim that the visor meets the European standard is a fake. | 0:19:20 | 0:19:24 | |
What do Trading Standards make of these results? | 0:19:24 | 0:19:28 | |
Well, I'm really disappointed. The helmet clearly doesn't perform. | 0:19:28 | 0:19:31 | |
It doesn't look as though it's going to perform as it should | 0:19:31 | 0:19:34 | |
which presents a worry for the wearer. | 0:19:34 | 0:19:36 | |
You're not going to not have such good visibility, | 0:19:36 | 0:19:39 | |
you may not necessarily realise that | 0:19:39 | 0:19:41 | |
but a bit of light perhaps through a tree or off headlights | 0:19:41 | 0:19:44 | |
can really cause some problems, | 0:19:44 | 0:19:45 | |
so it really does concern me, these results. | 0:19:45 | 0:19:47 | |
Next, the team from the BSI prepare a penetration test. | 0:19:49 | 0:19:53 | |
This simulates how well the motorcycle visor | 0:19:54 | 0:19:56 | |
can withstand the impact of a stone or other flying debris. | 0:19:56 | 0:20:01 | |
We'll drop a mass from one metre, | 0:20:02 | 0:20:05 | |
we hit the punch and that will penetrate the visor | 0:20:05 | 0:20:07 | |
and depending on how far it goes through, | 0:20:07 | 0:20:09 | |
determines whether it's a pass or a fail. | 0:20:09 | 0:20:11 | |
There is a difference of 6mm penetration into the visor | 0:20:15 | 0:20:19 | |
and the limit is 5mm, so this is a failure. | 0:20:19 | 0:20:23 | |
So, on a second count, | 0:20:23 | 0:20:25 | |
the claim that this visor meets European standards | 0:20:25 | 0:20:28 | |
is proven to be a fake. | 0:20:28 | 0:20:29 | |
For the final, most critical test, | 0:20:32 | 0:20:34 | |
the BSI team is going to measure how well the helmet itself | 0:20:34 | 0:20:38 | |
will protect the rider in the event of a crash. | 0:20:38 | 0:20:42 | |
We're doing the impact on the helmet in three or four different places. | 0:20:42 | 0:20:46 | |
This will simulate in a real-life accident | 0:20:46 | 0:20:48 | |
someone coming off a motorbike and hitting in different orientations | 0:20:48 | 0:20:52 | |
as part of the accident. | 0:20:52 | 0:20:53 | |
This is one of the impact tests it has to pass | 0:21:01 | 0:21:03 | |
to meet the European standard. | 0:21:03 | 0:21:05 | |
So will it be third time lucky? | 0:21:06 | 0:21:08 | |
The impact energy is 975g which is a massive impact. | 0:21:15 | 0:21:20 | |
It's over three times the limit, it's actually off the scale. | 0:21:20 | 0:21:23 | |
That's brain injury, definitely. | 0:21:26 | 0:21:28 | |
So this helmet's catastrophically failed the European standards. | 0:21:29 | 0:21:34 | |
And there's worse news for the visor. | 0:21:34 | 0:21:37 | |
The visor's cracked in half but could quite easily have shattered | 0:21:37 | 0:21:41 | |
into more pieces, which could have caused serious eye injuries. | 0:21:41 | 0:21:45 | |
And now, the next impact test. | 0:21:47 | 0:21:50 | |
Wow. | 0:22:01 | 0:22:03 | |
That helmet has split... | 0:22:03 | 0:22:05 | |
..completely in half now. | 0:22:06 | 0:22:07 | |
It's a very bad result and certainly wouldn't meet | 0:22:09 | 0:22:12 | |
any of the requirements that we've ever tested to. | 0:22:12 | 0:22:15 | |
Usually at this point, the BSI would continue with further tests | 0:22:16 | 0:22:20 | |
but this failure is clearly in no fit state to carry on. | 0:22:20 | 0:22:24 | |
Trading Standards have been warning bikers about the dangers | 0:22:24 | 0:22:27 | |
of buying helmets that don't meet legal safety standards. | 0:22:27 | 0:22:31 | |
Their investigation continues. | 0:22:32 | 0:22:33 | |
I would be concerned for anyone who is going to be wearing this helmet. | 0:22:35 | 0:22:38 | |
The worst thing is they think they're protecting themselves | 0:22:38 | 0:22:41 | |
by wearing a helmet | 0:22:41 | 0:22:42 | |
and it's barely going to provide any protection whatsoever. | 0:22:42 | 0:22:46 | |
Pesticides are often used to help grow the food we eat. | 0:22:51 | 0:22:55 | |
They're regulated and tested. | 0:22:55 | 0:22:57 | |
And the residues that remain on the food when we buy it are monitored. | 0:22:57 | 0:23:01 | |
But even then, it's a controversial subject. | 0:23:01 | 0:23:04 | |
So, it's been alarming for Fake Britain to discover | 0:23:04 | 0:23:07 | |
that potentially-dangerous fake pesticides are in circulation. | 0:23:07 | 0:23:12 | |
Experts tell us that the worldwide trade | 0:23:12 | 0:23:14 | |
in counterfeit and illegal pesticides | 0:23:14 | 0:23:17 | |
is said to be worth around a massive £4 billion, | 0:23:17 | 0:23:21 | |
and UK farms could be on the counterfeiters' hit list. | 0:23:21 | 0:23:25 | |
This is Felixstowe Port | 0:23:29 | 0:23:30 | |
where Border Force have made a shocking discovery of counterfeits. | 0:23:30 | 0:23:34 | |
Not the usual fake perfume or children's toys... | 0:23:35 | 0:23:38 | |
These are fake pesticides, | 0:23:39 | 0:23:42 | |
and they're potentially hazardous chemicals. | 0:23:42 | 0:23:44 | |
Well, the consignment originated in China | 0:23:46 | 0:23:48 | |
and it's been imported into the UK. | 0:23:48 | 0:23:53 | |
The products themselves are generally used in pesticides which would | 0:23:53 | 0:23:58 | |
typically be in something like this designed for agricultural use | 0:23:58 | 0:24:02 | |
rather than retail sale. | 0:24:02 | 0:24:03 | |
Acetamiprid is an insecticide and was developed in Japan. | 0:24:05 | 0:24:09 | |
The Japanese manufacturer has told Border Force that this | 0:24:10 | 0:24:14 | |
consignment must be counterfeit | 0:24:14 | 0:24:17 | |
because it's arrived from China, outside the usual supply chain. | 0:24:17 | 0:24:21 | |
The packaging is blank because it's probably going to be used | 0:24:22 | 0:24:25 | |
in some sort of further manufacturing or packaging process | 0:24:25 | 0:24:29 | |
somewhere in the UK. | 0:24:29 | 0:24:30 | |
But because it's counterfeit, | 0:24:30 | 0:24:32 | |
we don't know where that manufacturing will take place | 0:24:32 | 0:24:35 | |
or that repackaging or relabeling. | 0:24:35 | 0:24:37 | |
And then what will happen to it after that? | 0:24:37 | 0:24:39 | |
The genuine acetamiprid | 0:24:42 | 0:24:44 | |
is used to destroy aphids like blackfly and greenfly | 0:24:44 | 0:24:48 | |
which suck the sap from young plants and damage crops. | 0:24:48 | 0:24:51 | |
This insecticide is approved for use on fruit and vegetables | 0:24:53 | 0:24:56 | |
that we all buy, like apples, lettuce and potatoes. | 0:24:56 | 0:25:00 | |
Although acetamiprid is not widely used throughout | 0:25:04 | 0:25:07 | |
the UK's farming industry, | 0:25:07 | 0:25:09 | |
researchers at Harper Adams University in Gloucestershire | 0:25:09 | 0:25:12 | |
have been monitoring other fake pesticides | 0:25:12 | 0:25:15 | |
that have entered Europe from elsewhere. | 0:25:15 | 0:25:18 | |
Somewhere between 5% and 7% of the pesticides being used in the UK | 0:25:19 | 0:25:24 | |
are likely to be illegal and, | 0:25:24 | 0:25:26 | |
again, a proportion of those will be counterfeits. | 0:25:26 | 0:25:29 | |
Certainly, the manufacturers of these illicit products | 0:25:31 | 0:25:34 | |
are becoming smarter. | 0:25:34 | 0:25:35 | |
They are producing product that is increasingly more likely | 0:25:35 | 0:25:39 | |
to fool the authorities. | 0:25:39 | 0:25:41 | |
Like any counterfeit products, | 0:25:43 | 0:25:45 | |
the worry for experts like Chris Sambrook and Dr Richard Byrne | 0:25:45 | 0:25:49 | |
is not knowing what hazardous chemicals are contained | 0:25:49 | 0:25:52 | |
within the fakes. | 0:25:52 | 0:25:53 | |
A manufactured pesticide is gone through years of testing, | 0:25:55 | 0:25:59 | |
years of investment, it's regulated, it's... | 0:25:59 | 0:26:02 | |
We know how it behaves in the environment. | 0:26:02 | 0:26:04 | |
The real problem with these counterfeit pesticides | 0:26:06 | 0:26:09 | |
is that they might be carcinogenic. | 0:26:09 | 0:26:11 | |
They might accrue in the soil system, they might pollute watercourses, | 0:26:12 | 0:26:15 | |
they might pose a health risk to the operators. | 0:26:15 | 0:26:18 | |
Rural crime these days goes way beyond the theft of the odd tractor. | 0:26:19 | 0:26:24 | |
Organised criminals are behind the counterfeit pesticides | 0:26:24 | 0:26:27 | |
that are targeting the farming industry | 0:26:27 | 0:26:29 | |
and the food they produce for us. | 0:26:29 | 0:26:30 | |
There's a lot of resources involved in this. | 0:26:32 | 0:26:34 | |
You need premises, you need chemical equipment, | 0:26:34 | 0:26:36 | |
you need a chemist. | 0:26:36 | 0:26:38 | |
This is not something that you can make up from items | 0:26:38 | 0:26:41 | |
at your local DIY store, so this is a laboratory-based chemical process. | 0:26:41 | 0:26:46 | |
It's a very sophisticated and very high-level investment, | 0:26:46 | 0:26:48 | |
but it's one with high rewards. | 0:26:48 | 0:26:50 | |
The costs of fake pesticides affecting the food we eat | 0:26:52 | 0:26:55 | |
are potentially high for everyone. | 0:26:55 | 0:26:58 | |
There is a potential for these... | 0:26:58 | 0:27:00 | |
for the residue from these products which again are untested, | 0:27:00 | 0:27:03 | |
getting into the food chain | 0:27:03 | 0:27:04 | |
and having a long-term impact as a consequence of that. | 0:27:04 | 0:27:08 | |
If it's a fake product that's being used, | 0:27:08 | 0:27:11 | |
sprayed onto vegetables or fruit, | 0:27:11 | 0:27:14 | |
I think the risk there is likely to be somewhat greater, | 0:27:14 | 0:27:17 | |
simply because the residues have a greater potential | 0:27:17 | 0:27:21 | |
to get into the food chain because they won't have had time | 0:27:21 | 0:27:23 | |
to dissipate, and I think anything that's certainly sprayed onto | 0:27:23 | 0:27:27 | |
a fruit crop would be a worry. | 0:27:27 | 0:27:30 | |
For people like Robert Young, whose family has been farming food crops | 0:27:33 | 0:27:37 | |
for generations, that's the concern. | 0:27:37 | 0:27:40 | |
Even though he's never encountered fake pesticides, | 0:27:41 | 0:27:44 | |
news of attempts to bring them into the UK is a worry. | 0:27:44 | 0:27:48 | |
I think that's very disturbing. | 0:27:50 | 0:27:51 | |
All our crops are grown to farm assurance standards | 0:27:51 | 0:27:55 | |
for human consumption and we have to guarantee | 0:27:55 | 0:27:58 | |
that no adverse pesticides are used on them. | 0:27:58 | 0:28:02 | |
It could put something toxic in that would make it unsalable | 0:28:02 | 0:28:07 | |
and then the crop would be unmarketable, | 0:28:07 | 0:28:10 | |
so there's a huge financial risk. | 0:28:10 | 0:28:13 | |
And if you've got a fake pesticide, | 0:28:13 | 0:28:16 | |
then you don't know the ultimate consequences that will happen. | 0:28:16 | 0:28:20 | |
Pesticide usage in the UK | 0:28:21 | 0:28:23 | |
is one of the most highly regulated in the world. | 0:28:23 | 0:28:27 | |
All chemicals have to be tested | 0:28:27 | 0:28:28 | |
and approved by the Chemicals Regulation Directorate. | 0:28:28 | 0:28:31 | |
Many farmers like Robert use certified suppliers, | 0:28:33 | 0:28:36 | |
an adviser or agronomist to suggest which pesticides to use, | 0:28:36 | 0:28:41 | |
and he has to record when he sprays them. | 0:28:41 | 0:28:44 | |
But with companies allowed to source pesticides from elsewhere in Europe, | 0:28:44 | 0:28:49 | |
the danger is if the fakes get into the system | 0:28:49 | 0:28:51 | |
at a weaker point in the chain. | 0:28:51 | 0:28:54 | |
The biggest risk would be | 0:28:54 | 0:28:56 | |
if distributors got something unwittingly and passed it on | 0:28:56 | 0:29:00 | |
to the farmers, and I think that is the bit that...have to be cautious. | 0:29:00 | 0:29:04 | |
Europol estimate that up to 25% of pesticides | 0:29:07 | 0:29:11 | |
in some European countries have been sourced illegally. | 0:29:11 | 0:29:14 | |
Organisations including the National Farmers Union | 0:29:18 | 0:29:21 | |
have set up the 'Watch Out!' campaign | 0:29:21 | 0:29:23 | |
to help farmers spot the counterfeits. | 0:29:23 | 0:29:25 | |
The industry take the use of pesticides extremely seriously. | 0:29:27 | 0:29:31 | |
Consumer confidence is absolutely paramount to our industry. | 0:29:31 | 0:29:35 | |
We've seen that there's a problem over in Europe | 0:29:35 | 0:29:37 | |
but we want to make sure it doesn't become one here. | 0:29:37 | 0:29:39 | |
Back at the port of Felixstowe, | 0:29:41 | 0:29:43 | |
for these fake pesticides, there's only one destination. | 0:29:43 | 0:29:47 | |
The safest thing for us to do is to just destroy them | 0:29:47 | 0:29:50 | |
and make sure they're out of harm's way for good. | 0:29:50 | 0:29:54 | |
Without the Border Force, | 0:29:56 | 0:29:57 | |
these could have been heading to a field near you. | 0:29:57 | 0:30:00 | |
Vintage guitars can be highly collectable and very valuable. | 0:30:16 | 0:30:19 | |
This 1964 Fender Stratocaster is worth £16,000. | 0:30:19 | 0:30:25 | |
That's cos it's 50 years old, and the Stratocaster | 0:30:25 | 0:30:27 | |
is the instrument of choice for nearly every famous rock star | 0:30:27 | 0:30:31 | |
we've ever heard of. | 0:30:31 | 0:30:32 | |
If a rock legend had owned this one, it would be worth £116,000. | 0:30:32 | 0:30:37 | |
The problem is telling the real from the fake | 0:30:37 | 0:30:40 | |
in the world of vintage guitars, it's not easy. | 0:30:40 | 0:30:43 | |
I mean, your guitar could be a Clapton but, then again, | 0:30:43 | 0:30:47 | |
it could just be clapped out. | 0:30:47 | 0:30:49 | |
Not only do they look incredibly cool, | 0:30:59 | 0:31:02 | |
electric guitars from the '60s that legends like the Voodoo Child | 0:31:02 | 0:31:06 | |
Jimi Hendrix played are now valuable as antiques or even works of art. | 0:31:06 | 0:31:10 | |
One of Hendrix's sold recently for | 0:31:14 | 0:31:16 | |
a quarter of a million pounds at auction. | 0:31:16 | 0:31:19 | |
But now the fakers have worked this out | 0:31:22 | 0:31:24 | |
and they know there are profits to be made | 0:31:24 | 0:31:26 | |
in the vintage guitar market. | 0:31:26 | 0:31:27 | |
As dealer David Pym discovered. | 0:31:29 | 0:31:32 | |
When he found a '64 Stratocaster on sale online for £8,000. | 0:31:32 | 0:31:38 | |
I just thought it looked very tempting being a 1964 Stratocaster. | 0:31:39 | 0:31:44 | |
It did have quite a lot of dings and dongs on the body | 0:31:47 | 0:31:50 | |
but that doesn't really matter with some guitars. | 0:31:50 | 0:31:53 | |
So it looked like a good item for me to purchase | 0:31:54 | 0:31:57 | |
to marry into my existing stock of Stratocasters. | 0:31:57 | 0:32:01 | |
The '64 Fender was being sold by a company with stores | 0:32:03 | 0:32:06 | |
across the UK called Music Ground. | 0:32:06 | 0:32:09 | |
Its owners, father and son duo, Rick and Justin Harrison | 0:32:10 | 0:32:14 | |
had built up a successful multi-million-pound guitar empire | 0:32:14 | 0:32:17 | |
from their base in Yorkshire. | 0:32:17 | 0:32:19 | |
They'd rubbed shoulders with rock legends like Bryan Adams. | 0:32:20 | 0:32:24 | |
David phoned Justin Harrison | 0:32:25 | 0:32:27 | |
to find out more about the Fender he had up for sale. | 0:32:27 | 0:32:30 | |
He said it was a very good, honest guitar, | 0:32:32 | 0:32:34 | |
so I decided to go for it because it seemed like a good buy. | 0:32:34 | 0:32:40 | |
But when the guitar arrived, | 0:32:43 | 0:32:45 | |
it didn't quite hit the right chord with its new owner. | 0:32:45 | 0:32:47 | |
I wasn't really happy with it. | 0:32:48 | 0:32:50 | |
It felt wrong to me in terms of the neck. | 0:32:51 | 0:32:53 | |
The neck didn't suit the neck pocket correctly. | 0:32:53 | 0:32:56 | |
David suspected that the neck on his vintage Fender | 0:32:58 | 0:33:01 | |
was not an original part. | 0:33:01 | 0:33:03 | |
It turned out his guitar | 0:33:04 | 0:33:06 | |
and a number of others would soon be investigated by the authorities. | 0:33:06 | 0:33:10 | |
Vintage guitars worth one million euros | 0:33:12 | 0:33:14 | |
had been stolen from a shop in Italy the previous year. | 0:33:14 | 0:33:18 | |
And several of these eventually turned up | 0:33:19 | 0:33:21 | |
in Music Ground's Leeds store. | 0:33:21 | 0:33:23 | |
Detective Chris Lord was investigating this | 0:33:24 | 0:33:27 | |
for West Yorkshire Police. | 0:33:27 | 0:33:30 | |
It was an extremely long, protracted inquiry | 0:33:30 | 0:33:34 | |
that spanned four-plus years ultimately. | 0:33:34 | 0:33:37 | |
Inquiries soon lead Detective Chris Lord | 0:33:40 | 0:33:43 | |
to David Pym's Fender that he'd bought from Music Ground. | 0:33:43 | 0:33:47 | |
It was up the sale on David Pym's website but he'd failed to sell it | 0:33:47 | 0:33:51 | |
when he told customers of his concerns about the neck. | 0:33:51 | 0:33:54 | |
Police told David the shocking news that they believed it was stolen. | 0:33:56 | 0:34:02 | |
I handed over the guitar and that's the last time I saw it, I'm afraid. | 0:34:02 | 0:34:05 | |
I'd been duped and it's very upsetting. | 0:34:08 | 0:34:12 | |
And David's initial suspicions about his guitar neck | 0:34:15 | 0:34:18 | |
turned out to be well founded. | 0:34:18 | 0:34:21 | |
Forensic imaging revealed it was taken from a second stolen guitar. | 0:34:21 | 0:34:26 | |
This 1964 Fender was a cut and shut, | 0:34:26 | 0:34:31 | |
made up of two different instruments. | 0:34:31 | 0:34:34 | |
The neck of the guitar is taken from one of the stolen | 0:34:34 | 0:34:39 | |
1964 Sea Foam Green Fender Stratocasters. | 0:34:39 | 0:34:42 | |
If we look at the original photograph, | 0:34:43 | 0:34:45 | |
prior to the guitar being stolen, | 0:34:45 | 0:34:48 | |
these marks are exactly the same as the one we've recovered. | 0:34:48 | 0:34:51 | |
The body of the guitar is taken | 0:34:53 | 0:34:55 | |
from a 1966 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster. | 0:34:55 | 0:34:59 | |
And the markings on the body tie up to the photograph | 0:35:00 | 0:35:03 | |
of the stolen Fender Strat. | 0:35:03 | 0:35:05 | |
Now, these markings are essentially like a fingerprint | 0:35:06 | 0:35:09 | |
because these markings have naturally occurred over decades. | 0:35:09 | 0:35:14 | |
So why have fakers created this instrument | 0:35:15 | 0:35:17 | |
out of two stolen guitars? | 0:35:17 | 0:35:19 | |
Purely to hide the identity and integrity | 0:35:21 | 0:35:24 | |
of the original stolen guitar in a view of fraudulently passing this on | 0:35:24 | 0:35:29 | |
to some innocent buyer. | 0:35:29 | 0:35:31 | |
And the serial plate that uniquely identifies every Fender | 0:35:31 | 0:35:35 | |
appeared to be false. | 0:35:35 | 0:35:36 | |
The number couldn't be traced. | 0:35:38 | 0:35:41 | |
This particular neck plate is clearly put there in a further | 0:35:41 | 0:35:45 | |
attempt to hide the identity of this particular instrument. | 0:35:45 | 0:35:48 | |
The trail of this cut and shut fake started in Verona. | 0:35:51 | 0:35:55 | |
The two stolen guitars were owned by Pierpaolo Adda | 0:35:57 | 0:36:01 | |
and it was his store that was burgled, | 0:36:01 | 0:36:04 | |
with thieves making off with more than 150 instruments. | 0:36:04 | 0:36:08 | |
This is the window... | 0:36:08 | 0:36:11 | |
..through which the thieves entered... | 0:36:14 | 0:36:16 | |
..and steal my guitars. | 0:36:17 | 0:36:19 | |
The best part of my collection. | 0:36:19 | 0:36:21 | |
All guitars given to me by famous guitarists from all over the world. | 0:36:21 | 0:36:25 | |
The two guitars used to make the cut and shut | 0:36:26 | 0:36:29 | |
Pierpaolo believes were worth a total of £35,000. | 0:36:29 | 0:36:34 | |
But the resulting instrument that was returned to him | 0:36:35 | 0:36:38 | |
he estimates is now only worth a fifth of that. | 0:36:38 | 0:36:41 | |
They have destroyed two beautiful guitars. | 0:36:42 | 0:36:45 | |
They have created a Frankenstein monster. | 0:36:45 | 0:36:48 | |
Pierpaolo uncovered more of his stolen guitars | 0:36:52 | 0:36:54 | |
on the Music Ground website. | 0:36:54 | 0:36:56 | |
This 1971 Les Paul Sunburst had also been subjected to fakery | 0:36:58 | 0:37:03 | |
to hide its true identity. | 0:37:03 | 0:37:05 | |
They're a fake serial number. | 0:37:07 | 0:37:09 | |
The original one has been scratched. | 0:37:09 | 0:37:13 | |
A new serial number has been embossed. | 0:37:13 | 0:37:16 | |
But to expert eyes like Pierpaolo's, | 0:37:16 | 0:37:19 | |
the age of the finish reveals its dark secret. | 0:37:19 | 0:37:22 | |
If you look carefully, | 0:37:22 | 0:37:25 | |
there is a difference between this part, I mean the neck, | 0:37:25 | 0:37:29 | |
and the upper part - the peg end. | 0:37:29 | 0:37:32 | |
This is opaque, you can see because it is other....other finish, | 0:37:32 | 0:37:37 | |
40 years old. | 0:37:37 | 0:37:39 | |
This is more shining because it's a newer finish, | 0:37:40 | 0:37:45 | |
five years old probably. | 0:37:45 | 0:37:46 | |
The Les Paul has since been returned to Pierpaolo. | 0:37:48 | 0:37:52 | |
He estimates it was originally worth around £4,000. | 0:37:52 | 0:37:56 | |
But after the fakers got their hands on it, | 0:37:56 | 0:37:59 | |
Pierpaolo believes the botched paintwork has halved its value. | 0:37:59 | 0:38:03 | |
A guitar is a piece of art. | 0:38:03 | 0:38:06 | |
How can you destroy it just to make money? | 0:38:06 | 0:38:09 | |
Although there's no evidence that Music Ground was involved | 0:38:12 | 0:38:15 | |
in the theft or the fakery, this wasn't the first time | 0:38:15 | 0:38:18 | |
that the company had been accused of selling fake guitars. | 0:38:18 | 0:38:22 | |
Justin Harrison had offered Fender enthusiast Dave | 0:38:24 | 0:38:27 | |
what was described as a 1964 Candy Apple Red Telecaster. | 0:38:27 | 0:38:31 | |
We agreed a purchase price of £17,000. | 0:38:33 | 0:38:37 | |
Sounds a lot of money but it is quite a rare instrument. | 0:38:37 | 0:38:40 | |
After paying up, it took over six months | 0:38:41 | 0:38:43 | |
for Dave's Candy Apple Red Fender to arrive from Music Ground. | 0:38:43 | 0:38:47 | |
Externally it looked fine. | 0:38:49 | 0:38:51 | |
It looked to be what it was supposed to be. | 0:38:51 | 0:38:54 | |
But when Dave dismantled his new vintage 1964 Fender | 0:38:56 | 0:39:00 | |
to replace a small part, he was shocked by what he found. | 0:39:00 | 0:39:04 | |
It was fairly evident that, | 0:39:05 | 0:39:07 | |
when you actually stuck your nose into the small cavities, | 0:39:07 | 0:39:12 | |
that the paint there actually smelt of being new paint which, clearly, | 0:39:12 | 0:39:16 | |
for a guitar that was supposedly manufactured in 1964 | 0:39:16 | 0:39:21 | |
shouldn't have been the case. | 0:39:21 | 0:39:23 | |
So the Candy Apple Red finish that made Dave's Fender | 0:39:23 | 0:39:26 | |
so rare was potentially fake. | 0:39:26 | 0:39:29 | |
He had the guitar examined by two vintage experts. | 0:39:31 | 0:39:34 | |
David Pym was one of them. | 0:39:34 | 0:39:37 | |
I could smell the paint, | 0:39:37 | 0:39:39 | |
and that is fatal for a 1964 original finish. | 0:39:39 | 0:39:43 | |
You wouldn't be able to smell the paint at all. | 0:39:43 | 0:39:45 | |
It would have no smell other than just a mustiness. | 0:39:45 | 0:39:48 | |
I did have a glance at the parts on it | 0:39:48 | 0:39:50 | |
and I assumed that the whole thing was put together | 0:39:50 | 0:39:54 | |
and manufactured to sell for a big profit. | 0:39:54 | 0:39:59 | |
The experts confirmed Dave's worst fears. | 0:40:00 | 0:40:03 | |
Clearly the guitar was a fake. | 0:40:03 | 0:40:06 | |
It was not original... | 0:40:09 | 0:40:11 | |
..in any way, shape or form | 0:40:12 | 0:40:14 | |
and it certainly appeared that it had been deliberately built to deceive. | 0:40:14 | 0:40:20 | |
Armed with this evidence, | 0:40:22 | 0:40:24 | |
Dave went back to Justin Harrison at Music Ground. | 0:40:24 | 0:40:26 | |
After Harrison dismantled his Fender, | 0:40:28 | 0:40:30 | |
he agreed it wasn't original and refunded Dave £17,000. | 0:40:30 | 0:40:35 | |
Music Ground told us that they purchased the Fender Telecaster | 0:40:38 | 0:40:42 | |
from a dealer in the United States. | 0:40:42 | 0:40:43 | |
When it was discovered that it wasn't original, they say | 0:40:48 | 0:40:52 | |
they provided a full refund. | 0:40:52 | 0:40:53 | |
They say they've - | 0:40:55 | 0:40:57 | |
Richard and Justin Harrison were eventually charged | 0:41:01 | 0:41:04 | |
with handling stolen goods | 0:41:04 | 0:41:06 | |
in relation to the guitar theft in Verona. | 0:41:06 | 0:41:09 | |
At Leeds Crown Court, Richard Harrison pleaded guilty | 0:41:09 | 0:41:13 | |
to one count of handling ten stolen guitars | 0:41:13 | 0:41:15 | |
and received a 12-month suspended sentence. | 0:41:15 | 0:41:19 | |
His son Justin pleaded guilty to two counts | 0:41:19 | 0:41:22 | |
of handling a stolen guitar | 0:41:22 | 0:41:23 | |
and received a six-month suspended sentence. | 0:41:23 | 0:41:27 | |
Both men said in court that they were unaware that the guitars | 0:41:27 | 0:41:30 | |
were stolen when they acquired them. | 0:41:30 | 0:41:32 | |
The danger is new, young people coming to the fore, | 0:41:32 | 0:41:37 | |
wanting to learn to play a guitar, wanting to copy their hero... | 0:41:37 | 0:41:42 | |
..buying a guitar and not getting the right product. | 0:41:43 | 0:41:46 | |
There haven't just been problems in the vintage market. | 0:41:50 | 0:41:54 | |
Guitarist Magazine's resident expert David Burlock | 0:41:54 | 0:41:58 | |
warns of modern fakes in circulation, | 0:41:58 | 0:42:00 | |
particularly on the internet. | 0:42:00 | 0:42:03 | |
We've certainly heard of incidences where more contemporary | 0:42:03 | 0:42:06 | |
instruments are being cloned, if you want. | 0:42:06 | 0:42:09 | |
There's lots of these things, you know, coming from China | 0:42:10 | 0:42:14 | |
and the problem simply comes | 0:42:14 | 0:42:17 | |
when the consumer thinks they're buying a new Ibanez guitar | 0:42:17 | 0:42:22 | |
or a new Gibson and it's made in a hurry in China. | 0:42:22 | 0:42:26 | |
And of course once you've paid your money, | 0:42:26 | 0:42:29 | |
it's not always easy to get it back. | 0:42:29 | 0:42:31 | |
He has wise words for anyone thinking about buying an instrument. | 0:42:33 | 0:42:36 | |
I think it's exactly the same as buying a car, you know, | 0:42:38 | 0:42:40 | |
you don't just go to a garage and say, "I'll have that one." | 0:42:40 | 0:42:43 | |
You know, you research. | 0:42:44 | 0:42:46 | |
Why would you buy a musical instrument without playing it? | 0:42:48 | 0:42:50 | |
Be careful, do your homework, get a second opinion. | 0:42:50 | 0:42:54 | |
That's all from Fake Britain. Goodbye. | 0:43:00 | 0:43:02 |