Time up for old fivers ... shops refuse them from midnight

MILLIONS of paper £5 notes are still in people’s homes and wallets, despite ceasing to be legal tender at midnight tonight.

According to the Bank of England the average adult in the UK is still harbouring an average of three old-style notes each – about 150 million in total.

Shops have been told to refuse them from Saturday, when they officially go out of circulation. But some have been refusing them ahead of the deadline, causing frustration among shoppers.

Although they cannot be spent in shops from Saturday, banks and the Post Office will still exchange them.

Replacing the old fiver is a new polymer £5 note featuring Winston Churchill. The new notes are stronger and more durable but have been at the centre of controversy after it was revealed that they contained traces of animal fat, making them unsuitable for vegetarians.

The polymer Churchill fiver entered circulation in September and has been circulating in tandem with the paper £5 note.

A spokesman for RBS said: “After the note goes out of circulation, customers will still be able to bring in their old £5 notes for exchange at one of our branches. Non-customers will be directed to their own bank.”

A Lloyds Banking Group spokesman said: “We’ll continue to accept them from our customers.”