A FRAUDSTER who tried to pass off fake £20 notes at an Argos store has been spared jail. 

Richard Kennedy, 31, of Wellington Street, Dalton, was found guilty to handing over £300 of counterfeit £20s and a counterfeit £10 when he went to buy an X-Box from the chain's Walney Road outlet in Barrow.

Preston Crown Court heard Kennedy pre-ordered the games console online and went to collect it on November 12. 

But when he handed over the cash to pay for his purchase, the notes were clearly fake. 

The silver line was not woven through the paper, the watermark looked dubious and the paper it was printed on did not look or feel like a bank note. Each note also bore the same serial number, the court heard. 

The shop assistant took the pile of £20 notes to her manager for advice and Kennedy picked up the £10 note off the counter and left the store. 

He denied knowing the notes were counterfeit but was convicted after a trial at Barrow Magistrates’ Court. 

Recorder Mark Laprell, sentencing, said: “It is acknowledged that the courts always regard offences of counterfeiting and their ancillaries as being very serious as they undermine the currency if there are enough of these in circulation. Current statistics suggest that there are.” 

However the judge accepted it was not a case where Kennedy had tried to spread the notes around and accepted there were no other notes found on him or at his home. 

He said: “This is not a particularly sophisticated forgery.” 

Kennedy has a number of previous convictions for public order offences and dishonesty but it is the first time he has been convicted of fraud in these circumstances. 

The judge ordered Kennedy to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work and handed him a 22 month sentence, suspended for two years. 

As he left the dock, Kennedy told the judge: “You won’t see me again, Your Honour.”