A SLOUGH man has been spared jail after trying to buy an iPhone with fake £50 notes.

Dejan McLean, of Scholars Walk, wrote off a car after being confronted by the sellers of the iPhone.

The incident occurred on February 25, 2021, after McLean had arranged to buy the mobile off sellers on Gumtree.

He met a woman and her mother for the transaction and handed them eight counterfeit £50 notes.

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The seller inspected the notes by holding them into the light and could see they were fake.

She asked McLean to hand the iPhone back but he instead passed her a different iPhone.

After a struggle between the group, the iPhone was dropped and smashed.

McLean and the women got out of the car and the defendant kicked the car with such force that it caused a dent that meant the vehicle had to be written off.

Police were called after McLean fled the scene and officers searched his home on Scholars Walk.

Here, they found 14 more fake £50 notes and several phones that were ‘constantly ringing’.

They also discovered scales with traces of cannabis on them.

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Bags of cannabis with a value of £540 were also retrieved.

A prosecutor said ‘the evidence suggests he was concerned in the supply chain.’

Mr Wise-Walsh, defending, argued McLean was ‘young at the time, clearly inexperienced and susceptible to peer pressure.’

“He wasn’t just a 17-year-old; he was a 17-year-old who was immature”, he added.

“He holds his hands up and he accepts what he did.”

The defence barrister asked the court to suspend McLean’s sentence as he is starting a new job in Reading.

Her Honour Judge Real, sentencing, said: “Where there is fake money is damages the economy and causes harm to individuals.

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McLean was handed a 12 month prison sentence suspended for 18 months for fraud, criminal damage, possession of counterfeit notes and passing counterfeit notes as genuine currency.

He must take part in 120 hours of unpaid work and 30 days of rehabilitation activities.

McLean was sentenced at Reading Crown Court on Tuesday, March 1.