A JOBLESS Southampton man made a £10,000 a year living selling counterfeit computer games from a homespun website.

Jamie Urbacz, 26, was caught out in an investigation by trading standards officers at Southampton City Council who bought some of the games which were found to be copies.

Southampton Magistrates’ Court heard how, acting on a tip off from Leicestershire County Council, the officers ordered two Xbox games, Blood Drive and Gray Matter, for £4.50 each from Urbacz’s “bobby360” website.

The games sell in the shops for between £28 and £35.

Forensic analysis confirmed they were counterfeit, infringing the trademarks for Xbox 360 and Activision.

Urbacz’s flat in Edwina Court, Southampton, was raided by trading standards and an official from the Association for United Kingdom Interactive Entertainment.

Prosecutor Mary Kigonya said computer equipment and counterfeiting paraphernalia, including a paper cutter, 200 blank discs, ink and DVD cases, were seized.

Miss Kigonya said 26 different trademarks had been found to be infringed by Urbacz’s counterfeiting operation.

She said Urbacz admitted in an interview with trading standards officers that he had been earning around £10,000 a year by selling counterfeit Xbox and Nintendo Wii games for the past two years. He said he made a £2 profit for each game sold.

Urbacz pleaded guilty to two offences under the Trades Marks Act relating to the test purchases.

In mitigation the court heard he had been “using his initiative” to make some money while he was out of work but the counterfeiting “spiralled out of control”

when he started getting orders, Magistrates adjourned sentencing for reports.

Southampton City Council has asked for costs of £1,933 to cover its investigation.

The council’s Cabinet member for environment and transport, Councillor Daniel Fitzhenry, said: “Our trading standards team will continue to track down anyone who is selling counterfeit goods and we will prosecute them.”