EBAY, the internet auction house, faces prosecution by medical authorities over the sale of contact lenses without the supervision of an optician or doctor.

The General Optical Council (GOC) has accused eBay of 11 counts of aiding and abetting the sale of prescription daily disposable lenses and cosmetic lenses to members of the public using its website.

According to the GOC, until recently there were more than 200 contact lens sales advertised on eBay.co.uk, the British component of the business. A spokesman for eBay said that all attempts to sell lenses on its site had been removed.

Contact lenses must be sold by, or under the supervision of, an optician or a doctor.

Nathan Efron, a Professor of Optometry at Manchester University, said of buying lenses without a prescription: “Even if they feel fine, there is a risk of irritation and infection . . . In a worst-case scenario, it could lead to vision loss.”

At the hearing, scheduled for next month, the GOC, the regulatory body for opticians, will argue that eBay is responsible for preventing unsupervised sales of lenses through its website.

Peter Coe, the GOC registrar, said that eBay had been made aware of the pitfalls of assisting the sale of lenses last November. He said: “We much regret that it has been necessary to take legal action. The GOC will always try to resolve such issues out of court.”

EBay UK rejected the charges but said it could not comment on details with a hearing pending. A spokeswoman said that eBay regarded the suggestion that it had failed to deal with the problem as libellous and had instructed lawyers to seek immediate withdrawal of the GOC’s allegations.

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