A SHOP owner in Weston is urging others to be on the lookout for counterfeit money after it was used to pay for items in his store.

A SHOP owner in Weston is urging others to be on the lookout for counterfeit money after it was used to pay for items in his store.

Around £80 worth of fake money has been handed to staff at The Shopping Basket in Upper Church Road, which is owned by Ruban Kumar.

The money has all been £20 notes and they were used to pay for items on separate occasions between Friday and Monday.

Mr Kumar, aged 39, said: "I have put one of the counterfeit notes on the counter in the shop letting people know that we are aware of them being used.

"We had a similar problem about a year ago and when we put a note out saying we knew about it the problem stopped."

The 39-year-old, who used to work in a Bureau De Change in London, has given some advice to his staff on how to identify counterfeit money.

He said: "On a real note, the Bank of England sign should be slightly raised above the paper, the picture of the Queen is a lot clearer than on a fake as you can make out all the detail of her hair.

"Also, if you flick a real note it makes a very crisp sound.