A SHOP advertising electrical goods at discounts of up to several hundred per cent was shut and boarded up a day after trading standards officers handed out warning leaflets to potential customers.

And those same officers are now trying to find out who owns the premises and whether the men running the electrical shop rented it or not.

The business, which had no name, opened at the weekend and claimed to offer bargains such as £120 Canon cameras for £3, and £1,200 laptop computers for £250.

But trading standards officers stood outside, handing out leaflets warning of the dangers of so-called one-day sales and mock auctions.

Some customers of such sales have complained of buying items sight unseen and not receiving the quality items promised in the sales pitch.

The staff of the shop in a former discount clothing store in Regent Street denied that they were part of any such operation but the shop was boarded up by yesterday morning.

Trading Standards team leader Phil Thomas said: "The people running it had told us they were going to be there for an initial seven days before opening a normal, walk-in shop.

"They also told us they were going to be on the premises for at least six months, and some members of the public say they were told the shop would be there for at least a year.

"They said the only day they would be shut would be Christmas Day, and that all items sold by them would have a one-year guarantee."

When the Evening Advertiser spoke on Monday to the men running the shop, they insisted they were a legitimate business and planned to stay.

They also insisted they were selling quality items and were not running one-day sales or mock auctions. They said their firm was called Chartwell and was based in The Avenue, Bromley, Kent.

Swindon Trading Standards has so far recorded two complaints against the store one from a person who paid £5 for a pen which they did not feel was worth the money and the other from a man who paid £65 for a camera and had a similar complaint.

Mr Thomas added: "We are certainly looking into what action we may be able to take against them in terms of the way that sales were conducted, but it very much depends on what we can prove or disprove. We are trying to get hold of the leaseholder of the premises to find out whether the company leased the shop from them or not."