A major haul of 4,000 items of fake Nike sportswear has been seized by authorities at Luton Airport.

The goods, weighing about three tonnes, arrived on board a cargo plane from Pakistan in 174 cardboard boxes.

The sportswear had a retail value of approximately £112,000 and was destined for the London markets.

HM Revenues and Customs' Maddy Ratnett said: "Officers have prevented a considerable quantity of counterfeit goods from being purchased by an unsuspecting public.

"The illegal trade in counterfeit products also threatens the livelihoods of honest traders by undercutting their prices.

"Anyone who thinks that they are buying illegal goods or has information about their sale can telephone our 24 hour confidential hotline number on 0800 59 5000."

The counterfeit goods consisted of an estimated 2,000 tracksuit bottoms and 2,000 tracksuit tops and would normally be destroyed by officials.

But, after the staff at Luton Airport who seized the goods said they wanted to help a charity as well as remove the items from the EU market place, Nike gave permission for the sportswear to be sent to the Red Cross for distribution overseas.

The international charity collected the sports gear from the airport on Tuesday.

John Cunningham, warehouse manager for the British Red Cross, said: "When major disasters happen, like the Asian tsunami for example, the need for food and shelter is always considered, but the need for clothing can easily be overlooked.

"These tracksuit bottoms and tops are culturally appropriate, hard wearing and good for the climates they will be worn in."