Designs of new plastic £5 notes being made in Cumbria will be unveiled this week – however there are fears they could stick together.

The fivers, featuring the image of Sir Winston Churchill, will be printed on polymer, a thin flexible plastic film made at Wigton’s Innovia Films.

The Bank of England has decided to move away from paper banknotes to plastic money, which is seen as more durable and secure.

However it has admitted that the coating on freshly-made notes can cause them to stick together, prompting fears people could accidentally end up paying twice without realising.

An official Bank of England question and answer sheet warns: “Brand new polymer notes can sometimes stick together, but this effect is short-lived once in use.”

The design of the first £5 notes will be unveiled on Thursday at Churchill’s birthplace – Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire. It will be issued in September, followed by £10 and £20 notes.

Britain is joining a list of more than 30 countries that already use plastic banknotes. 

Innovia in Wigton, which prints the notes for other countries including Australia, was awarded the contract to make them, resulting in a multi-million pound investment in the Wigton factory.

Wigton mayor Alan Pitcher said it is already putting the town on the map.


Alan Pitcher He said: “It’s definitely a talking point. As part of my duties as mayor I get asked about it a lot. If you go on holiday anywhere and mention plastic money, where it’s being made, people have heard about it.

“When people think of Cumbria they tend to think of the Lake District and not much else. This shows there’s more to the area. It’s a really positive step. This is big.”

He added that it is also really good for local people and the economy, bringing jobs and investment as well as national publicity.

The current £5 note features prison reformer Elizabeth Fry. Plans to replace her with former Prime Minister Churchill caused an outcry over the lack of female faces on UK banknotes.

It was later announced that novelist Jane Austen would be the face of the new £10 note from 2017. Artist JMW Turner will appear on the next £20 note, to be issued by 2020.