Hundreds more fake copies of this year’s must-have Christmas toy have been seized at Felixstowe Port.

Trading standards officers seized the consignment of fake Fingerlings during at raid.

The consignment, which was destined for a warehouse in Dagenham, was inspected by the department’s Import Surveillance Team, who were quickly able to determine they were counterfeit.

Samples are now being sent off for testing, as there are fears the products could be dangerous.

This seizure follows on from raids carried out by officers on a retail premise in Ipswich town centre, and a pedlar also working in the town, where officers detained 141 fake Fingerlings.

Following this further discovery, Suffolk Trading Standards’ department is reiterating advice on how to spot genuine Fingerlings:

Genuine Fingerlings will clearly have the manufacturers details “WowWee” printed on the packaging: WowWee Canada Inc. 3700 Saint Patrick Street, Suite 206, Montreal, QC, H4E 1A2

Genuine Fingerlings are sold in packaging with a moulded plastic top sealed onto a cardboard backing sheet.

Genuine Fingerlings have the WowWee logo on both the front and back of the packaging

Fake versions will often have different names like ‘Baby Monkey’, ‘Happy Monkey’ or ‘Finger Monkey’

Matthew Hicks, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for Environment and Public Protection, said: “Christmas is a time of joy and giving but after finding these large quantities of counterfeit toys we are warning people to check before they buy.

“Genuine manufacturers ensure toys go through a series of rigorous safety checks before they go on sale, however these unscrupulous traders have no regard to their safety.

“Anyone who has concerns about a product they have seen for sale or have already bought should report it to Trading Standards by contacting the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 03454 04 05 06.”

Fingerlings are top of this year’s Christmas list for many young children – but there have been shortages in some areas which has made the toy popular for fake manufacturers and put trading standards departments across the country on alert to try to ensure that counterfeit products are intercepted.