A CHARITY shop manager has warned others to be wary after conmen ripped off his volunteers with fake £20 notes.

Michael Butler, who runs the Mind charity shop in Wantage, said two teenagers came into the store within an hour of each other on Friday both brandishing forged notes.

His volunteer at the counter even checked the notes with a special pen to expose forgeries, but they both passed the test.

A few hours later he discovered the crooks had hit several other stores around town.

Mr Butler, who lives in Grove, said: “It’s despicable.

“One guy came in with a £20 note, picked up something that cost a pound and paid for it with this note.

“My volunteer said it didn’t feel quite right and she wasn’t sure about it but it passed the pen test.

“Then an hour later another lad came in and did the same thing, so they both took £19 in change.”

After the second dodgy note, the volunteer told Mr Butler about it and he took them to the bank, who confirmed both as forgeries.

He then discovered the fakers had also targeted the nearby Helen and Douglas House charity shop, palming off another fake £20 on them, and the Shaw Trust shop whose volunteers had been too suspicious to take the fake.

Mr Butler said he reported the culprits to the police on Friday night.

For more information and advice about forged bank notes visit the Bank of England website at bankofengland.co.uk