Old Clothes

Figures just released reveal that last year Trading Standards Officers raided over 60 high street outlets selling dangerously out-of-date clothes. "A lot of people think that it's okay to wear trousers that are a few days past their sell-by date, or that there's no harm slipping into a shirt that should have been worn a week ago," says Geoffrey Invoice of the Trading Standards Institute. "But if you do that, you're taking your life in your own hands."

Unfortunately, with household budgets becoming ever tighter, the temptation to buy cheap out-of-date apparel is growing. But Mr Invoice emphasises that it's not worth the risk, and urges consumers to make sure they check dates, look for evidence of tampering and, above all, avoid buying anything that smells funny.

"I've seen the havoc that dodgy clothing can cause," he tells us. "And underwear is particularly dangerous. The figures don't lie: out-of-date socks cause over 200 casualties a year. And in 2013 our officers received a record number of complaints concerning dangerously abrasive Y-fronts. But if you're still not persuaded, think back to March when that poor man was all over the papers after buying a faulty vest. He might have thought he was getting a bargain at the time, but then he never reckoned on getting his nipples blown off, did he?"