A CAREER criminal tried to buy a pair of shoes at a shop in Eastleigh for his young daughter’s birthday with a £20 Scottish bank note, Winchester Crown Court heard.

But the vendor realised the note was conspicuously counterfeit and the police were alerted.

When Antony Page was stripsearched at the police station, he was found with 11 dud £20 notes stuffed in his underwear, said prosecutor Unyime Davies.

Page, 25, of Mablethorpe Road, Portsmouth, admitted possessing counterfeit currency, attempting to pass a dud note and being in breach of an 18-month conditional discharge imposed for stealing a £20 bottle of whiskey in a store.

Jailing him for 12 months, Recorder Alistair Malcolm QC told Page: “Making and possessing counterfeit money is serious because it undermines the economic system and confidence in bank notes. You failed at the first hurdle in passing this note.”

In mitigation, Christopher Hewertson said Page had tried to buy the shoes on Christmas Eve for his daughter’s fifth birthday three days later: “He knew what he was doing and he took a risk.”

Referring to Page’s 28 previous convictions, the barrister added: “He has not been present for the majority of her birthdays.”