'Fake gifts' shop raided by police
Twenty police and trading standards officers stormed the Christmas Clearance Shop in King Edward Street, city centre.
Two men in their 50s, believed to have been running the shop, have been arrested on suspicion of fraud.
The authorities were alerted after receiving complaints about the shop, which only opened last weekend, from customers.
Hundreds of Christmas shoppers are thought to have been affected and thousands of pounds handed over.
People apparently queued outside the shop to attend thrice-daily sales at the store.
Signs on the windows and on leaflets advertised cut-price items, including Nintendo Wii for £80, BlackBerry phones for £60 and Tom Tom Sat Navs for £25, among others.
On the first floor sales room, people would be shown goods, which they could bid on.
If successful, the goods would then be taken behind a screen and boxed.
Customers claim it as at this point the goods were swapped with unbranded and faulty replicas – or nothing at all.
Kane Downs, 17, of Anlaby Common, says he spent his first ever pay packet on what he thought was an iPod and docking station for £80 and a Bluetooth hands-free car kit for £40, as Christmas presents for his dad.
He also bought a PSP games console for himself, for £80, blowing £200 – two weeks wages.
When he got home and checked the items, the iPod was allegedly a Tobishika MP4 player and the other items were unbranded and broken.
Kane said: "I wanted to surprise my dad with the iPod, but now I can't. I am gutted. Now, I will just have to save up and get him something else."
Following yesterday lunchtime's raid, the electrical goods were taken away from the shop by officers.
Chris Wilson, of Hull City Council's trading standards department, said: "We received quite a few complaints the shop was drawing people in with offers of bargain branded goods, but selling inferior and unbranded products or empty boxes."
The Christmas Clearance Shop in King Edward Street, Hull city centre
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