Shops victim of fake £20s sting

TAKE note: staff member at Uppermill Post Office, Karen Kilgannon, with the forgeries

fraudsters are causing a headache for shopkeepers in Saddleworth, passing fake £20 notes to buy goods.

Postmaster and parish councillor Graham Sheldon has been handed three of the notes by owners of neighbouring shops, and was shocked to find one in his own cash register at Uppermill Post Office.

He has told police, but is keen to warn other shopkeepers.

He said: “We don’t know how many there are out there, but I’ve got four sitting behind my counter now after people handed them in.

“They are actually very good copies to look at, although they feel slightly different.

“But when you put them under a light machine, that’s when you can tell they’re fake. A silver motif of Bank of England shows up, so they’re obviously fake.”