Hundreds of thousands of potentially dangerous items destined for sale were seized at East Midlands Airport over the course of a year.

Leicestershire Trading Standards intercepted 521,000 unsafe, counterfeit or 'non-compliant' goods as they entered the country for sale in shops and online.

From unsafe toys and electrical goods which could cause fires, to jewellery containing hazardous metals and cosmetics made with toxic ingredients, the haul is worth over £17 million.

In other cases, the goods were incorrectly labelled or missing necessary paperwork, making them non-complaint with UK regulations.

East Midlands Airport is the UK's second busiest cargo airport, handling more than 320,000 tonnes of flown cargo each year.

Leicestershire Trading Standards airport team works with the UK Border Force to examine imported items and ensure that consumers are not exposed to unsafe and dangerous products.

Just some of the boxes of items seized at East Midlands Airport. Photo: Leicestershire County Council

Councillor Deborah Taylor, the county council's cabinet member for regulatory services, said: "Our trading standards team, in partnership with Border Force, carries out vital work which enhances the safety of consumers in Leicestershire and the wider UK as it ensures that unsafe goods do not make their way into the supply chain.

"All these products which have been seized either present a danger to the public, or are substandard, so it is crucial that they are intercepted and either made safe or sent for recycling."

Since the Covid pandemic and Brexit, the trading standards airport team has also seen an increase in the number of people importing cheap goods to sell from their homes to make money – not realising that this makes them importers who are responsible for complying with all the relevant safety legislation.

The items will now be sent to the De-Struct recycling site in Nottingham. Plastics, metals and fabrics will be reused for things like children's toys, play equipment and the stuffing of pet bed, while cables have the copper stripped out of them – to be resold – and the lithium in batteries is crushed to power to be re-used.