Warning on fake notes
Conmen have been using fake £50 and £20 bank notes across Bewdley, prompting a warning for traders and shoppers to be on their guard.
Two men, both speaking with Irish accents, have been buying goods with a low value to secure change from the forged Scottish notes.
They have struck across Worcestershire but there has also been a spate of fake Bank of England £20 notes being used in shops across Bewdley.
Police said there had been six attempts to use the notes over the last few days although several shopkeepers have refused them.
Officers have described the notes as thicker than normal texture and said the Queen's head on the watermark is a poor copy.
On Wednesday a man used a fake £50 note at Wharton Park Golf Club in Bewdley to buy £5 worth of golf balls. Staff later discovered the note felt thick and greasy and realised it was counterfeit.
The fraudster was captured entering the club's main entrance at 11.15am on CCTV cameras and the image, pictured, shows a white man, aged 20 to 25, around 5ft 8 inches tall, of average build wearing jeans, a light top and white baseball cap.
A similar incident happened on May 16, when another man used a fake Scottish £50 note to buy cigarettes from a shop in Fairfield, Bromsgrove.
The same man is believed to be responsible for passing or attempting to pass counterfeit Scottish £50 notes at around half a dozen shops, restaurants and garages in the Leominster area and Tenbury Wells on May 18. He is described as white, of medium build, dark haired and speaking with an Irish accent.
Inspector Paul Crowley of Kidderminster police warned traders to be vigilant.
