Cops target the "Burberry Boys"!!

Met's Operation Burberry causes fury at fashion house

Police incurred wrath of Burberry after naming an operation after the fashion brand

Bosses at Burberry must have thought that the company was at last beginning to shed its unwanted association with Chavs.

No longer would their upmarket brand and its distinctive check pattern be instantly linked to downmarket wannabes and wide boys.

But then along came the Metropolitan Police. Senior officers decided to call a crackdown on football hooligans Operation Burberry.

Caps in the check pattern, or at least fake copies, had become part of the hooligan uniform.

Burberry is furious at the use of its name and has demanded that the Met stop using it or face legal action.

Especially galling is the fact that the crackdown is aimed at Millwall, a club whose supporters have a particularly bad

reputation. An insider at the fashion company described the use of the brand for a clampdown on thugs as 'an embarrassment too far'.

He added: "Burberry is now synonymous with Chavs and thugs - this is an image we are desperately trying to put behind us.

"To have the police, of all people, using our name like this has undone all the good work we have done. Burberry cannot let this lie and its legal team will be contacting the police force involved.

"We were not consulted on this and would never have allowed the police to use our name in such a way."

The firm - which this year celebrates its 150th anniversary - was hit by a downturn in sales when it became the favoured label among Chavs.

It was also hijacked by down-market celebrities such as former soap star Danniella Westbrook, glamour model Jordan and Jade Goodey from Big Brother.

Those wearing the check were banned from some pubs and clubs. Even though many of the designs were actually counterfeit goods, Burberry had to fight hard to avoid a backlash from its traditional wealthy clientele.

Prince William further reinforced that image this year when his friends dressed in Burberry for a Chav fancy dress party.

But Burberry - which stresses that 90 per cent of its sales are abroad and are therefore relatively immune the Chav connection - has bounced back, not least by jealously guarding its copyright.

A spokesman for the firm said: "Our Burberry name is a registered trademark. Anyone who uses it without our permission is infringing our trademark and will hear from our lawyers."

Copyright experts said proving infringement of trademark might be difficult for Burberry.

Michael Coyle, from Lawdit Solicitors, said: "Burberry would have to prove its brand was being used in the course of trade, which it clearly isn't.

"But they could also argue that associating it with hooligans would have a detrimental effect, although proving that is one thing and putting a figure on the damage caused is quite another."

The Metropolitan Police said it was looking into the dispute.

A spokesman said: "Operation Burberry is an ongoing drive to tackle disorder at Millwall football matches. A number of people have been arrested and charged under Operation Burberry."

Burberry was founded in Basingstoke, Hampshire, in 1856, and has become an international brand. It is two thirds owned by GUS, parent company of Argos.