SHOPKEEPERS in Hexham are on high alert after forged bank notes were handed into a town centre charity shop.

Two fake £20 notes were handed over as payment at the Save the Children shop on Tuesday morning.

The notes were used by two men in two different transactions, 15 minutes apart. One man bought a black hat and shirt and the other man bought some CDs.

Shop volunteer Mary Oswell was at the till at around 10.30am and initially accepted the counterfeit money as authentic.

However, a colleague then noticed that the material of the banknotes felt unusual. And the use of a forgery detector pen on the £20 notes soon proved her suspicions to be well-founded.

Mary said: “I was astounded by the quality of them.

“They are very believable fakes. The detail on them is very good. But on closer inspection the watermark of the queen is not quite as it should be.”

Mary raised the alarm, visiting nearby shops to alert them to the counterfeit cash in circulation and also informed the police.

She is also re-imbursing Save the Children for the money lost.

Police are asking for the two men who used the notes to contact police, but say it is not clear whether they were aware the money was counterfeit.