United are quids in but notes are seized

Aug 2 2007 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal

HALF a century ago, it was moneybags football club Sunderland who were known as the Bank of England club for their lavish spending.

But when trading standards officers raided a Gateshead car boot sale last weekend, they’d have been forgiven for thinking the moniker would these days more aptly refer to Newcastle.

And yesterday, council chiefs revealed the haul that gives a new meaning to idea of footballers being made of money.

On Sunday, at the car boot sale at Blaydon Rugby Ground in Swalwell, officials seized fake £20 notes featuring the Newcastle United crest and legendary striker Alan Shearer in place of the Queen.

Other minted players were departing midfielder Kieron Dyer, Mark Viduka, Nolberto Solano, and Steven Taylor along with pictures of characters from the film, the Pirates of the Caribbean, The Simpsons and Disney’s Snow White.

But the joke bank notes failed to raise a smile with trading standards officers, who believe they breached copyright and could be folded and used to trick old people or passed off as real in busy pubs and shops.

The comic forgeries have also fallen foul of staff at the Bank of England.

A spokeswoman for the Bank said: “It doesn’t matter what the intent was, if these notes can be folded in such a way as to be mistaken for the real thing then they are a counterfeit and they are illegal.

“We have the copyright on the bank note design and of course we support this action.

“Quite simply it is against the law to replicate a bank note regardless of the intention.”

The Gateshead Council trading standards officers took several hundred of the “collectable” notes and issued a warning to the seller.

The officers were worried the notes could be used to trick unsuspecting businesses.

Sheila Johnston, director of development and enterprise for Gateshead Council said: “On the face of it, these are just a bit of fun but it’s doubtful whether the owners of these images would share that view.

“Trading standards officers are always on the look-out for products that use trademarks illegally in a bid to appear to be something which they are not.

“It’s about protecting the public as much as protecting the copyright or trademark holder. However, these notes look just like real bank notes when they are folded in two, and we are very concerned that some people may be conned into accepting them as legal tender.

“So we are urging everyone in the region to exercise caution when receiving a bank note. Older people especially, and anyone with a visual impairment, should take particular care.”

Trading standards officers will be carrying out further inspections at car boot sales over the next few months.