A shopper was arrested after trying to use a Northern Irish banknote at an English branch of Tesco.

Peter Byrne was handcuffed by police officers and put into a squad car after refusing to leave the store without the items he wanted to buy.

He says staff told him that Tesco did not accept Irish banknotes.

Workers at the shop had telephoned police after the 43-year-old allegedly became abusive.

However, Mr Byrne - who had tried to pay for £11.14 of goods with a Northern Irish £20 note - claims that he 'remained calm' throughout.

'I was stunned because I had used a similar note in the same shop the night before and there hadn't been a problem,' said Irish-born Mr Byrne.

'I work three days a week in Ireland and often bring back notes. I tried to explain it was sterling.'

Police released Mr Byrne without charge after the incident at the Tesco Express store in Bournemouth and drove him home.

A Tesco spokesman said its employees have the right to refuse any note but there was no policy to reject Northern Irish banknotes.

'In Bournemouth they don't normally see them and there were suspicions the note was a fake,' he added.

To read the complete article, see:Man arrested for paying with Northern Irish £20 banknote(www.metro.co.uk/news/822952-man-arrested-for-paying-with-northern-irish-20-banknote)