Woman tried to use $1m bill

We're all guilty of occasionally using a large note to pay for some chewing gum or a paper to free up a bit of a change.

But one woman took this to the extreme when she pulled a $1million bill out of her purse at the local Wal-Mart. To make matters worse, it was an obvious fake.

Alice Pike, 35, wanted less than £1,000 of goods - and was expecting more than £500,000 in change from the till.

The cashier immediately noticed the bill was a forgery - American notes only go up to $100 - and the police were called.

Pike, who had two more phoney sevenfigure notes in her bag, was arrested for forgery. 'This is the first time in my law enforcement career I've seen someone trying to use a $1million bill,' said police chief Almond Turner. 'It was green but you could tell it was not a real bill.'

Pike, from Covington, Georgia, told police her husband gave her the notes. She is having psychiatric tests.

'The scam had a better chance of working if she used a few bogus $100 bills,' said a spokesman. 'It's not every day someone goes to Wal-Mart with that sort of cash. She certainly stood out.'