A WOMAN who had her Northern Irish banknotes refused at a stationery shop said she feels discriminated against.

Judith Reed, who has moved to Hereford recently, went to pay for a pack of pencils with a £20 Northern Irish sterling note at Ryman Stationery in Eign Gate, Hereford.

She said: "The cashier said she believed she had an email that said they weren't allowed to accept £20 Northern Irish notes. I stood in the shop for 20 minutes as they tried to ring someone to see if they could accept it.

"They said they would not accept any notes from the Channel Islands, Gibraltar and Northern Ireland.

"She did say she would accept Scottish bank notes and I asked what the difference was."

Ms Reed did not buy anything and left the shop. She rang the Ryman HQ who told her it was their policy not to accept Northern Irish banknotes.

She added: "I was absolutely furious. I then went down to M&S and they took my note, no problem. This stationery shop is adamant- they are discriminating against Northern Irish and their legal sterling."

She said she will not shop at any of Ryman stores again.

Nicki Clarke, PR Consultant to Theo Paphitis Retail Group, said: "Ryman regrets any offence caused to the customer as a result of the currency being refused.

"We will be reviewing our policy and ensuring that all colleagues within our 221 stores are fully aware if any revisions are made.

"As a gesture of goodwill, we would like to offer the customer a complimentary voucher and hope she will feel comfortable returning to one our stores."

Northern Irish and Scottish banknotes don't legally have to be accepted in the UK.

Notes from the seven issuing authorities in the two countries are legal currency and can be accepted throughout the UK, but it doesn't mean they will be.

The Association of Commercial Banknote Issuers said: "The acceptability of any means of payment, including banknotes, is essentially a matter for agreement between the parties involved."