'Being given fake cash is a slap in the face'

The owner of a bowling alley says being given £200 of fake notes is "a slap in the face" as police warn the circulation of forgeries is on the rise.

Fiona Watts, owner of Boston Bowl, said she was "devastated" when she realised the money in her takings was counterfeit.

"It's a week's wages for some people, it's a lot of money for any business when we're struggling as it is anyway," she said.

Lincolnshire Police said: "With the move towards a more cashless society, people may be less used to handling cash notes and aren't sure what to look for in the newer-style notes."

The force said it had seen an increase in imitation currency and warned offenders could be jailed for up to 10 years.

Det Insp Mark Hawley, from neighbouring Humberside Police, said counterfeit cash was also a problem across their force area.

Watts said she and her team had narrowed down the incident to New Year's Eve.

"We had an exceptionally busy night on the bar, there was lots of cash handed over," she said.

But when she took the money to the Post Office she was told hundreds of pounds worth of notes were fake.

"It got confiscated straight away, we just had to write that £200 off."

Watts said her team had become more vigilant and she had purchased machines to check notes. She had also printed off pictures of cash and highlighted areas on the notes to always check.

"If you're busy these things can be easily missed," she said.

"It depends on how good the fake is, but a good one's quite difficult to spot."

Det Sgt Emma Ward from Lincolnshire Police's Economic Crime Unit said imitations had become more convincing.

She added there were key areas to always check which included holograms, braille and the colour of the note.

"Feeling both, you feel a fake and you feel a legitimate note, they feel very similar. So really it's about looking."

The force said there had been a sharp increase in fake notes reported since December, particularly in business that use cash like takeaways, supermarkets and petrol stations.

Ultimately, Ward said it was a criminal offence to purchase an item with counterfeit money.

"That is a crime. Don't try to use it, take it to a bank."

Hawley said measures to combat counterfeiting in the Humberside Police area included using trained sniffer dogs.

"It's actually the ink on the notes that they're trained to smell," he said.

"They're fantastic to see in action and they're really, really useful in the battle against counterfeit currencies."

He added: "We really have to be aware of the fact that this isn't just a case of people trying to pass off a fake currency.

"We know that fake currencies are used and circulated by organised crime groups and they use that to facilitate other types of crime."

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