£18m worth of counterfeit football jerseys were seized in the UK during the FIFA World Cup this summer, leading to warnings from the Fire Service that these items are more flammable than genuine kits.

Over 220,000 items of football merchandise were recovered by the Police Intellectual Crime Unit as part of Operation Bloxwich, a UK police enforcement effort that targeted counterfeit goods. A single raid involved 1,618 fake kits that were being stored in a Birmingham warehouse.

Counterfeit jerseys pose are far greater fire risk than officially licensed kits, with experts saying that the lack of regulation involved in the manufacturing of the products can lead to increased risk.

Detective Sargeant Jamie Kirk, City of London Police, took part in Operation Bloxwich and told BBC Sport: "I understand why people want to buy these shirts, people love football and the incentive is the lower price - but these shirts, they're not regulated and could be highly flammable.

"They have dyes in them which could be harmful to skin, particularly children's skin. While the cost is lower - and that's the attractive part - potential damages to you and the people making them is just far too high."

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service carried out a test on the flammability of counterfeit shirts against genuine products. The kits were hung side-by-side and subjected to a blow torch to demonstrate their comparitive vulnerability.

Watch manager Dave Jackson said: "It's quite clear that the counterfeit one melted as soon as the burner went on it. I really had to try to make the genuine one ignite and melt.

"It's extremely dangerous. It's something that can cause horrific injuries to your children. It's just not worth the savings."

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