MAGISTRATES have fined a man £1,000 for conducting a mock auction at the pavilion of a rugby club in Enfield.

Gary Sopher, 43, of Ilford, was also ordered to pay £823 prosecution costs after trading standards officers presented the case against him at Enfield Magistrates Court, sitting at Tottenham, in April.

Sopher pleaded not guilty to the charge that he ran the mock auction in October 1996 at the home of Old Tottonians Rugby Club in Great Cambridge Road.

He was rumbled when he delivered a leaflet to the home of a trading standards officer the day before the event, and was later prosecuted under the Mock Auctions Act 1961.

Enfield trading standards chief Charles Wallace, who presented the case against Sopher, said he is very pleased that he secured a prosecution but would not comment on whether the council felt the fine was adequate.

He told the Independent: I cant comment on the decision of the court, but I am delighted we proved the case.

Mr Wallace explained that mock auctions usually involve the auctioneer hiring out a hall and promoting the event at short notice.

The punters are often told that the goods are in perfect condition although they are frequently factory rejects.

Typically customers are asked to bid for products often unseen.

Mr Wallace, 39, said: Last year we didnt have any mock auctions, there were none in the area to our knowledge but thats not to say that next year we wont get a spate.

The council is keen for people who attend mock auctions to call trading standards officers, especially if they believe defective goods were sold.

Call trading standards at Enfield Council on 379 8515.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000.Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.