A HAUL of pirate DVDs including hardcore pornographic films, the latest cinema blockbusters and illegal music CDs has been seized following an investigation at a Sunday car boot sale in Oxford.

Police and trading standard officers found 1,621 counterfeit film titles and 300 CDs on sale at the Big Ben Car Boot Sale at the Kassam Stadium in Blackbird Leys, Oxford, on Sunday.

Illegal DVDs stashed in bags in a car boot included the recent cinema releases Superman Returns and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest as well as more than 300 hardcore pornographic movies.

The weekly car boot sale takes place opposite The Vue cinema where most of the seized titles have only recently been released on to the big screen.

The raid followed an investigation by Oxfordshire County Council trading standards officers where 'spotters' moved secretly round the car boot sale identifying illegal retailers.

In the boot of one car, five bags filled with pirate movies were discovered and a search of a nearby van uncovered illegal music CDs.

The illegal recordings were on sale for £5 each making the haul of seized goods worth more than £9,500.

Organisers of the event have called the illegal traders the scourge of car boot sales.

Pc Martyn Wills, of the Blackbird Leys neighbourhood team, said: "These raids ensure the integrity of the car boot sale so it can be enjoyed by the whole community.

"Working in partnership with external organisations we are helping to rid the estate of the criminal element which adversely affects community tranquility by keeping people such as these people away from this car boot sale.

"The DVDs will now be destroyed, causing thousands of pounds loss in the supply chain, which will discourage others from doing the same."

Five police officers were joined by six plain clothed trading standards officers and four police community support officers for the raid at 10am.

The pornographic recordings will now be studied for their illegal content before any criminal proceedings are launched.

Richard Webb, group manager of trading standards, said: "This illegal trade affects the business of local independent and larger traders.

"We know much further up the chain this illegal behaviour is linked to more serious organised crime. The people behind this are largely in organised criminal gangs some are involved in drugs and people trafficking."

Trading standards experts believe most of the titles have been shipped to England from the Far East.

Three men from London have been quizzed by police on the sale of the DVDs and CDs but there were no arrests.

Police have vowed to continue to monitor the car boot sale.

The raid was welcomed by Richard Franklin, proprietor of the Big Ben Car Boot Sale.

He said: "It is an ongoing problem. We thought we had got rid of this activity it is disastrous for the integrity of car boot sales.

"We cooperate with trading standards where ever possible and anyone we catch will be thrown out for good.

"But as in this case, if they are not selling them openly on the stall, it is very difficult to deal with. We are pretty strict and we do everything we can to stop this scourge of car boot sales."

Hundreds of stall holders regularly sell goods at the weekly car boot sale which attracts thousands of buyers every Sunday morning.

Florist Laura Cook, of Pinkies of Oxford, said: "It gives everyone else a bad reputation. We don't want people thinking everything here is dodgy."