A PRINTER suffering hard times is facing jail after being convicted yesterday of controlling hundreds of forged share certificates and bank drafts.

The papers were seized from a filing cabinet at Cheviot Printers, in Newcastle's Newbridge Street in April last year, and the business's owner, Barry Armstrong arrested.

A joint operation between London and Northumbria Police saw search warrants executed at Armstrong's home and the business premises.

The bogus share certificates were all for blue chip United Kingdom companies and the drafts in the name of an international bank.

Armstrong told officers: "I have never seen them before in my life."

A jury at London's Southwark Crown Court found him guilty of having control over the counterfeit items.

Armstrong, of St Borans Crescent, Cheviot View, Newcastle, denied having a false instrument between January 1 and April 7, 1999.

He faces sentence on September 8.

Brian Kennedy, prosecuting, told the jury: "You can be sure Armstrong knew those documents, forged counterfeit documents, were in the filing cabinet in the offices of a firm he was running on a day-to-day basis."

Mark Moore, defending, said that a number of people had access to the works and there was nothing to link Armstrong to the dusty filing cabinet apart from the fact he owned the company.