It was planned as a publicity stunt to send a strong message that China is cracking down on illegal trade and counterfeiting. But when villagers realised officials in Xuzhou, east China's Jiangsu province, had stockpiled a 35-ton heap of fake goods to burn, they decided to help themselves before dozens of counterfeit designer shoes and clothes went up in flames. Locals fought their way to the vast pile to lay their hands on everything from fake cosmetics and computer parts to soya milk, using iron hooks and bamboo baskets to reach items, according to the People's Daily Online. Villagers descended on a vast pile of counterfeit goods collected in China that was planned to be incinerated, grabbing designer shoes and clothes as well as soya milk and other food from the 35-ton 'mountain' Word soon spread, drawing crowds of people who described the pile as a 'mountain of treasure.' Locals were seen pilfering anything they could from the vast pile, and stuffing goods and dozens of boxes into cars, trucks and even wheelbarrows. Among the items grabbed were food, healthcare products, cosmetics and computer parts. The 35.7 tonnes of counterfeit goods had been stockpiled by authorities in the city of Xuzhou where they were being kept before being destroyed. But when locals heard that the the huge pile worth 285,000 Chinese Juan (£30,500) was to be burned, they went along to have a look. When they saw that many of the items had not been incinerated yet, they started helping themselves. As word spread that many items had not yet gone up in flames, locals descended on the area . Lok Shen, 36, said: 'It was like a mountain of treasure just sitting there. 'There weren't any guards around and it seemed a waste to burn it all, so we took what we wanted.' Word spread and the place was soon swarming with looters grabbing boxes of anything they came across and stuffing them into the backs of cars, trucks and even into wheelbarrows. The public burning was just one of many that have taken place across the country as part of a crackdown on counterfeit goods, with the sign of bulldozers crashing bottles of spirits and counterfeit fireworks being set alight. Dozens of boxes were piled into the back of vans as villagers made off with their spoils, saved from the fire . The 35 ton pile was destined for the incinerator as part of China's crackdown on illegal trade and counterfeiting . Opportunists seized anything they could lay their hands on - including fake food stuffs and soya milk . This publicity stunt was planned to be slightly different, with goods being incinerated to generate energy. It was estimated that for every ton burned 550kwh of electricity would be generated. Officials in Jiangsu attempted to stop any further looting and asked people to return goods they had taken. Many people were unaware of the risks of pilfering fake items, particularly food. A local government spokesman said: 'We are looking at ways of making sure it doesn't happen again.' Boxes containing fake shoes, clothes and other items were grabbed by villagers and loaded onto vans . Locals used anything they could lay their hands on, including sticks of bamboo, to grab fake items . But local man Lok explained: 'If no one else wants them then I don't see why we shouldn't help ourselves. 'They may be fake but they are still good, and this way the counterfeiters aren' t getting any money and we are disposing of the items in a much more environmentally friendly way.' In 2013 Chinese officials set fire to a pile of fake wine, cigarettes, handbags and cosmetics  in Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province.
Officials in Xuzhou collected a 35-ton pile of counterfeit items for burning . Villagers got word of the plans and went down to pile to grab items . They took fake designer handbags, shoes, cosmetics and soya milk . Several stuffed boxes of fake items into cars, trucks and a wheelbarrow . Locals described the collection of counterfeits as a 'mountain of treasure'
Items were being incinerated as part of crackdown on illegal trade in China .