Forged £20 notes are circulating in the district, a police inspector has warned.

Inspector Sue Sanderson attended a meeting of the Steeton with Eastburn Parish Council last week to alert residents after many fraudulent notes were found across the area.

She said: “There seems to be lots in circulation. A lot seem to be coming from Ilkley, Shipley and around this area. The Bank of England will be able to tell you what security points a £20 has so you know whether or not it is fake.”

Insp Sanderson said police community support officers (PCSOs) now had GPS tracking devices in their radios so their route on foot patrol could be tracked. She said: “I know where they are at any time of the day. PCSO Lawrence Walton is in charge of patrols in Steeton and Eastburn and I know he walks around the streets of both villages all the time – which is where he should be.”

Craven Neighbourhood Policing Team and the public went out on patrol around the villages. Insp Sanderson said: “We did some community together patrols so that members of the public could point out to us where they think the problem areas are and in return we could show them what we are doing.”

A new crime-alert service warning residents when a crime has occurred in their area is soon to be set up.

Councillors and residents will be able to sign up to the police-run service and be sent e-mails with details of crimes within 24 hours of them happening.

l Women surveyed outside Steeton and Silsden railway station have reported feeling unsafe using the service at night.

In a survey of station users conducted by the Joint Transport Working Group, some women said the lack of lighting made them feel afraid if they were travelling home from work on their own.

The questionnaire, which was set up to discover how far people travelled to use the station, recorded that people came from as far as Halifax, Preston and Burnley to park and get on the train to Leeds.