A WOMAN who sold fake DVDs on the streets of Ipswich has been jailed for 20 weeks.

A WOMAN who sold fake DVDs on the streets of Ipswich has been jailed for 20 weeks.

Jian Zhe He was snared by trading standards officers after they received a tip-off from a member of the public that she was peddling the dodgy discs to shoppers.

Zhe He, of Lewisham Road, London, was stopped in the Stoke Bridge area of Ipswich on Friday and was found to be carrying 175 fake and pornographic DVDs.

She appeared at court on Saturday morning where she pleaded guilty to six charges - four of breaching trade mark laws, one of breaching copyright laws and another of breaking the Video Recordings Act.

Justices at South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court jailed her for 20 weeks. She also forfeited the fake DVDs for destruction and had the £230 found on her at the time confiscated.

Among the fake DVDs seized from Ms He were some not even on sale yet, including Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Iron Man, The Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian, Sex and the City and Superhero Movie. Xhe He, 22, served time in prison for the same offence committed in Suffolk in April 2007.

Earlier this month, officers caught Weng Buo Bing, 41, of Stratford in London, selling illegal DVDs at the Riverside Industrial Estate in the Wherstead Road area of Ipswich. He was jailed for six months.

Assistant county trading standards officer, Reg Ruffles, said: “This is the second prison sentence this month for fake DVD sellers and the message could not be clearer - Come to Suffolk to sell fakes and you could be sent to prison.

“By issuing a prison sentence the court has shown that it recognises the seriousness of the crime and the very real damage this does to local legitimate businesses.

“The public has a vital role to play here. This case came to us after a member of the public reported the seller to the police and the public are our eyes and ears in the battle against fakes.

“However, that is just one part of the story. We can each play a part in wiping out the trade in fake goods and DVDs by simply not buying them. If there is no market for fakes in Suffolk then criminals will not be able to profit at the expense of local firms.”