THE new owner of a village store has been targeted by counterfeit cash scammers after just two weeks in the job.

The Londis store in Main Street in Haverigg was taken over by a new owner, a woman and her husband, two weeks ago after the previous owner left suddenly.

Last Thursday, as the couple were continuing to find their feet in the busy convenience store, two men called in to buy a number of items including pies and other refreshments.

However, after they left, the owners discovered the two £20 banknotes they had used to pay for their purchases were in fact counterfeit.

The new owner told The Mail: “I became a bit suspicious after they’d gone so I took a closer look at the notes and spotted they both had the same codes on them.

“When I rang the police they initially weren’t sure if it was something they would investigate, or if it would be dealt with by Trading Standards, but they came round and took the notes away.”

The woman said the two men were “definitely not from round here”, judging by their accents, and agreed that as Haverigg attracts visitors from across the country to the prison, they could have “been from anywhere”.

New £5 and £10 notes are now printed on polymer.

The £20 notes will switch from paper to polymer in 2020 and will feature the portrait of artist JMW Turner.

The polymer notes have a number of security features.

If you look at the front of the note under a good quality ultra-violet light, the numbers appear in bright colours whilst the background remains dull in contrast.

Using a magnifying glass, look closely at the lettering beneath the Queen’s portrait — you will see the value of the note written in small letters and numbers.

On the front of the note, below the see-through window, is a silver foil patch. When the note is tilted the word ‘Ten’ or ‘Five’ changes to ‘Pounds’ and a multi-coloured rainbow effect can be seen.

The new notes also have raised dots to assist blind or partially sighted people to distinguish between different denominations.

Anyone with information about the two men who used counterfeit notes in Haverigg’s Londis store is asked to contact PC 1669 Rogac on 101, or call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.