A university graduate who sold more than £70,000 worth of counterfeit clothes and trainers on eBay to pay off his student debts has narrowly escaped a prison sentence.

Justin Welham, 27, set up accounts called UK Clothing Company, UK Urban Clothing Company and Discounts For You on the auction website, and ran the business from his dad’s office at his parent’s home, in New Road, Tadworth, after finishing his studies at Bournemouth University.

He bought knock-off Nike, Fred Perry, Lacoste, Hugo Boss and Diesel clothes “off the back of a lorry” in central London, and then sold them online on for double the price.

It led to Welham being sentenced at Guildford Crown Court yesterday to a 12 month community order with 120 hours unpaid work, after pleading guilty to six counts of possessing goods with false trademarks for sale and one count of making a false instrument with intent.

Judge Suzan Matthews QC said: “It was a nice little business, but it was based on the fact that these were all false goods, and appeared to have been acquired through visiting areas in London where vans showed displays but, putting it simply, these came off the back of a lorry.

“In these circumstances it was likely to be highly suspect, but you turned a blind eye to the fact the source of these items was not likely to be legitimate.”

The court heard that Welham’s father, who runs a plumbing and engineering company, was also charged after lending his son money to start the business, but he was acquitted following a trial at Redhill Magistrates Court.

Trading standards officials caught up with Welham and searched his parents’ house in April 2008, finding 55 fake tracksuits, 11 jackets and 101 pairs of trainers.

Timothy Moores, prosecuting, said Welham - who now works for insurance company the Riverbourne Group ltd - had used the firm’s headed note paper to create a bogus invoice.

Timothy Bradbury, defending, said: “Plainly where he has gone wrong is failing to make those enquiries any prudent person should have made to establish the authenticity when he was not purchasing direct from a manufacturer.”

He said Welham was “mortified” by the prosecution against him and his father, and he was remorseful for “having dragged his family unwittingly into this matter”.

Judge Matthews ordered him to pay back £2,440, adding that she had spared him jail due to “exceptional circumstances”.