HE may be a burger-loving King but when it comes to spending his money in Ipswich, one Scottish father knows which chain he'll be heading to from now on.

By Jo Macdonald

HE may be a burger-loving King but when it comes to spending his money in Ipswich, one Scottish father knows which chain he'll be heading to from now on.

For when Sandy King tried to buy lunch in the town centre branch of Burger King, staff refused to accept his Scottish £20 note.

To make matters worse he claims the manager of the fast food restaurant and the staff member who had been serving him laughed in his face and suggested the note was a forgery.

The 36-year-old said: "One of my brothers had got a burger and went to sit down so I decided to sit with him while he finished.

"We were sat facing the manager and one of the staff and they were talking about it and laughing at us, making fun of us. You don't expect that from the manager.

"My brothers got quite angry and argued that it was legal tender."

"They told me they wouldn't take the note," he added.

"I told them to hold it up to the see the metal strip, as you don't get that in forgeries. There is forged English money about but they don't check all of that."

Mr King had travelled to Ipswich from Tayport, near Dundee, to visit relatives for a few days.

While his wife Kate, and their daughters, Abigail, seven, and Sarah, five, went to McDonald's for lunch, Mr King headed to Burger King with his brothers David and Alan.

Having already eaten two McDonald's meals during the week he wanted a change.

However, when his Scottish note was rejected he went to join the rest of his family in McDonald's in Tavern Street and had no problem handing over his £20 note.

"The lassie behind the counter said she'd not seen one before so asked the manager," Mr King said. "He said it was fine. The girl even apologised for not recognising it."

Mr King, who has another brother, Jim, who played for Ipswich Town under Bobby Robson, said he has had problems spending Scottish money in England before, particularly the £1 note, it was the attitude at the Westgate Street Burger King that appalled him on this occasion.

"I won't be going to Burger King in Ipswich again," he said. "It's just the principle of the thing.

"To think you can spend Euros in London and stores like M&S but you can't spend a Scottish £20 note in Ipswich," he added.

A spokesperson for Burger King said: "Due to a high incidence of counterfeit Bank of Scotland £20 notes, Burger King restaurant staff are extra vigilant when taking payment from customers.

"We can confirm that a customer's payment was recently refused due to suspicions that the Bank of Scotland £20 note being used was counterfeit, although this has not been confirmed.

"We would like to apologise for any inconvenience this might have caused."