A FRAUDSTER was jailed after he used fake £50 notes to buy small value items at a pet shop and garden centre.

Father of five Matthew Barnett, 33, of Eastbourne Court, Barry, then pocketed the legitimate change after targeting shops in the Radyr area of Cardiff.

He passed off the dodgy dosh at Pets Corner and Pugh’s Garden Village, prosecutor Tom Roberts said.

Cardiff Crown Court heard how a friend of Barnett’s had given the defendant four phoney £50 notes.

He used two of them on June 2, 2019 before he was caught.

Shopfitter Barnett was convicted of two counts of tendering counterfeit currency after he was found guilty in his absence at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court.

Ruth Smith, representing the defendant, said her client was a father of five and that his pregnant partner was expecting the couple’s sixth child.

His barrister said Barnett had struggled with heroin addiction and had lost two close friends.

Miss Smith admitted that a custodial sentence was inevitable and added: “Saying goodbye to his family today just before Christmas was the hardest thing he has done as a father.”

The judge, Recorder David Elias QC, told Barnett: “You knew exactly what you were doing and you targeted two small businesses.

“The possession of counterfeit currency is regarded very seriously by the courts.

“It strikes at the very heart of the economy.”

The defendant was jailed for 14 months and ordered to pay a victim surcharge upon his release from prison.