A SHOP, a taxi driver and a bank have all been victims of forged notes circulating in Hoddesdon. A fake £20 was deposited in the High Street’s Barclays bank on Wednesday (December 14), and another was handed over to Bowmans Homestores on Friday (December 9) morning. A spokeswoman for Barclays Bank said: “We check all the notes when they come in, and as far as the crime is concerned, we can’t identify where it came from.”

Herts Constabulary is urging shoppers and traders to contact the police if they have any doubts over the authenticity of the notes. PC Mark Hodges from the Broxbourne Neighbourhood Team said: “We have not been made aware of any issues with counterfeit notes in Hoddesdon, however we will speak with local shopkeepers to provide crime prevention advice or initiatives where required. “I would advise any businesses who have received a counterfeit note to contact police so we can investigate and ensure the notes are sent off to the Serious and Organised Crime Agency to be tested and investigated further.” Shopkeepers, stallholders and taxi drivers have dealt with the problem by marking up all £20 notes with a forged note detector pen. Joanna Mazanowska, manager at Oxfam charity shop, said staff in the shop carry out rigorous checks on every single £20 which is paid to them. She said: “We have not had any for ages but we used to get them quite often on Friday mornings.

“It was always the same person who came in with the false notes and eventually we had to refuse to serve him, and we haven’t seen him since. “We always check them carefully because at this time of the year, we expect to see more of them.” A taxi driver, who did not wish to be named, said: “A client tried giving me a £20 which I believed was a fake, so I refused to take it from him – he had to pay me in coins instead.”

A spokesman for the Bank of England said: “If you come across a counterfeit banknote, it is important that the police are contacted in all instances. “Counterfeit banknotes are part of organised criminal activity. Each counterfeit note is evidence.”