A man has been charged after officers found around £50,000 in counterfeit money during a vehicle stop near Penrith.

On Wednesday, February 18, John McDonnell, 27, of Winchelsea Close, Sussex was stopped and has been charged with three offences under the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act.

Appearing before Barrow Magistrates Court on Friday, February 20, the case has been sent to Carlisle Crown Court.

Following his arrest Police have seized the defendant’s vehicle

Neil Harris, Head of the National Counterfeit Currency Unit (UKNCO) at the National Crime Agency (NCA), said: “This arrest by Cumbria Police has prevented these counterfeit bank notes from entering circulation and I am most grateful to the CID at Kendal for the prompt and decisive way in which the case was investigated.

“We are seeing counterfeit bank notes being sold online and marketed on social media as ‘prop notes’.

“The notes sold as ‘prop notes’ are counterfeit and to possess, sell or use them as payment are criminal offences.

“We see foil stickers added to these counterfeit notes to conceal the ‘prop notes’ text, and these foil stickers are also illegal to possess, buy or sell.”

Mr Harris added: “There are simple checks you can make to identify a counterfeit bank note by checking the holographic foil strip – on a genuine note the wording in this strip will change from the value of the note to ‘pounds’, for example from ‘twenty’ to ‘pounds’, but on a counterfeit note, this word is fixed.

“You can also check the name of the bank – on a genuine note this wording will be raised but a counterfeit one will be smooth to touch.”