John Robert Daniells was prosecuted for street trading without a licence.
A charity flag seller has been fined £440 after illegally street trading during the Olympic Torch Relay in Kingston last summer.
John Robert Daniells, of Tiptree, Essex, was prosecuted after Trading Standards officers spotted him dressed in a Help for Heroes t-shirt, pushing a trolley with Help for Heroes signs on it and selling Union Jack flags for £1 and £2.
When questioned by police, Daniells refused to say if all the money was going to the charity and quickly left the area.
Enquiries later revealed that just 10 per cent of the money from the flags was intended to be given to Help the Heroes.
“This was not simply a charity collector as might have seemed at first glance, but someone taking advantage of a great occasion and people’s goodwill without disclosing that only 20 pence of every £2 for a flag would go to charity,” said Councillor Simon James, Kingston Council’s Lead Member for Trading Standards.
“Street traders need our permission to work in the borough so that we can ensure they operate transparently and to avoid consumers being misled.”
Daniells admitted street trading without a licence. He was fined £125 and ordered to pay £300 costs plus a £15 victim surcharge.
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