A trader has been ordered to pay more than £1,000 in fines after 500 unclassified DVD’s were seized.

Rajadurai Sivananthan, owner of Global Home Entertainment in Northolt Road, South Harrow, has been ordered to pay fines totalling £1,226 after he was visited by Trading Standards Officers.

The officers found a total of 506 Tamil DVDs on sale without a British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) ratings, which are in place to protect the public and ensure people can make an informed choice before they decide to purchase the film.

Upon further examination by the BBFC, officers discovered that no rating had ever been issued for the films.

During a formal interview, Mr Sivananthan claimed that he brought the DVDs for 50p each from a Sri Lankan man who visits his shop frequently.

Despite owning an entertainment business, he also stated that he did not have much experience and confirmed that he did not seek assistance or advice on trading standards prior to starting his business.

Cllr Graham Henson, responsible for crime and community safety said: “The BBFC have guidelines in place for a reason – to protect vulnerable or young viewers from accessing harmful or unsuitable content.

“Global Home Entertainment showed a total disregard for these rules and continued to sell the films. They were only interested in the profit they could make.

“These films could have contained images that were distressing for to view and without being classified we will never know.

“The shop owner claimed ignorance of the rules, but this behaviour tarnishes the reputation of honest retailers in Harrow.”

Rajadurai Sivananthan was fined by Harrow Magistrates for all eight offences and ordered to pay £1,000 in costs and £20 victim surcharge.