AN INTERNET trader from Dursley was fined for making claims that herbal remedies she sold were a treatment for cancer.

Donna Sims appeared in court last week after Trading Standards brought charges against her and her eBay company Herbal High Magick.

Sims, 56, of Silver Street, pleaded guilty to eight charges of advertising herbs as treatment for the disease, which is an offence under the Cancer Act of 1939.

Gloucester Magistrates Court heard how Sims made extensive claims about a range of herbal remedies from treatment of minor ailments right through to life-threatening diseases such as AIDS and cancer.

The products included "wild crafted mistletoe herb", "gourmet kiwi fruit jam" and "Pau d’Arco herb".

Advice was also offered in statements made about the benefits of taking dandelion, barley grass powder and cocoa butter.

Claims made on the web page, which has now closed down, included: "it is believed that this product may actually destroy certain kinds of cancer cells", "used to treat cancer", "the fibre helps to combat cancer" and "generally used to fight cancer".

Sims was warned by Trading Standards officers that such claims can only be made for licensed medicines and that claiming that an unlicensed product can treat cancer is in breach of the Cancer Act.

However the court was told that in spite of this warning the illegal claims continued to be advertised over an eight-month period.

Magistrates handed out a two-year conditional discharge to Sims and she was ordered to pay £1,100 in costs.

Eddie Coventry, head of Gloucestershire Trading Standards, said: "Cancer is a very emotive subject and it is a serious matter for anyone other than a medical professional to claim they have a treatment for the disease.

"Miss Sims was given every opportunity to remove these claims but failed to do so.

"This service is committed to ensuring that people in the county are not exploited in this way, particularly at a time when they are at their most vulnerable."

He added: "We would advise consumers to be very careful of any medical claims being made over the internet and check carefully how true these are before making a purchase.

"We would warn any traders involved in selling herbs to ensure they check how all their products are described to people."

The Gazette has made numerous attempts to contact Donna Sims since the hearing but she has not been available for comment.