In a bust from the past, cops have raided a vinyl record forgery factory in West London.

Police and anti-piracy officers from the UK record industry think the fraudsters ran the biggest vinyl copyright theft operation in the country.

200 'stampers', used to press vinyl records, were seized during the raid, including some used to press copies of rare Rolling Stones bootleg recordings. Two German men were apparently at the property when police entered, both of whom were charged with copyright offences. It's been suggested that the plant might have been responsible for producing the majority of illegal vinyl releases in the UK.

It seems that this raid was linked to another that recently took place at Scenario Records in the Ladbroke Grove area of West London, though the exact link isn't clear.

The industry, which had been in terminal decline since the advent of CDs in the mid 80s has seen a major revival as CD users embraced downloads but music lovers craved the nostalgia and technical superiority of the physical format.

Yesterday, auction house Christies sold a signed copy of a With the Beatles LP for £15,000 and saw £680,613 worth of rock and pop memorabilia trade.

Thanks to the recession, the collectible vinyl business has seen record sales soar as investors view rarities by The Beatles and Queen as more stable assets than risky market ventures. The squeeze has also seen owners cash in. The industry shifted nearly three million units last year and the collectors market continues to grow as records become harder to find.