CROOKS are flooding Preston's shops with counterfeit £20 which depict The Queen with a huge grin, national counterfeit crimebusters have warned.

The Citizen has learnt that one cocky conman walked into several stores in Deepdale Retail Park, buying hundreds of pounds worth of goods with fake £20 notes.

The notes were spotted by vigilant staff in one store, but not before the crook had fled with the goods.

The cash has now been handed to the National Crime Squad, in London, who will try to see if the notes match up with batches they have received from elsewhere in Britain.

A spokesman for the National Crime Squad said: "We receive money from Lancashire all the time.

"The most common notes to be copied are £10 and £20 notes because they are what we call 'entertainment' notes. "These are ones which tend to be used in pubs and clubs because they are busy and dark."

The run-up to Christmas is traditionally a boom time for the counterfeiters, who take advantage of the pre-Christmas spending spree to pass on their notes .

Shopkeepers in Leyland have also reported an increase in the number of forged notes circulating in the area, particularly £20 notes. Again, the notes depict The Queen with a huge grin and several of them are smudged.

One shopkeeper, who wanted to remain anonymous, claimed the copies were coming from a crook living in the Wade Hall area of Leyland.

A Police spokesman said: "Anyone who is concerned about any notes that they have should contact the police."

Blackpool shopkeepers were put on alert over the summer after a huge batch of notes were spread throughout Scotland ahead of 'Glasgow fortnight' at the seaside resort.

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