A NUMBER of forged £5 notes have been discovered circulating in a North-East town.

Over the past fortnight, about 20 of the counterfeit notes have been handed in to police in Darlington. The majority of them had been passed at off-licences.

PC Jonathan Stoker, of Darlington police, said that the notes were easy to spot, as long as people were paying attention.

"Some of them are obvious laser copies on to printer paper, others are on better quality paper, which people might not notice," he said.

"People should check the silver band runs through the note, and that there is a watermark.

"Some of them are just the wrong colour, so if they compare them to a real £5 note they will be able to tell the difference immediately."

He said that although people may be tempted to try to spend the forgeries, so as not to be out of pocket, anyone who was caught doing this could be arrested.

PC Stoker said he felt the forgers had chosen £5 notes because they were easier to get rid of.

Darlington police can be contacted on (01325) 467681.