Five shops in a Welsh town centre were reportedly approached with fake £50 Scottish notes which passed counterfeit money detectors. A sharply-dressed man is alleged to have succeeded in using the notes at New Look clothes store, Pandora jewellers and Shuzz shoe shop on Tuesday in Merthyr Tydfil.
The man allegedly also tried to buy items with the notes at The Works stationery shop and Trespass outdoor clothing store. He is said to have been accompanied by a more casually-dressed man in some of the incidents. The fake notes were able to evade detection by UV scanners, said Elizabeth Bedford from Merthyr's Business Improvement District (BID). Police have identified two suspects from CCTV.
Mark Day, who manages The Works on New Market Walk, was not in the store at 12.30pm when one of the notes was presented but staff gave him their account of what happened. He told WalesOnline: "Two chaps came in. The well-dressed one went to the till and tried to do the transaction. The other stayed near the door and was a bit of a scruff bag by all accounts.
