Money warning: Brits have just SEVEN DAYS to spend paper £20 and £50 notes

Brits have only one week to spend paper £20 and £50 notes before they go out of circulation.

The notes will no-longer be accepted in shops after September 30 when they will no-longer be legal tender.

They will become worthless in any shops and stores where customers would usually hand them over as payment.

It means people have small window to spend the cash before the notes go out of use and will need to use them quickly.

Polymer £20 and £50 notes, which have been in circulation for more than two years will replace them after they were issued in February 2020.

The £50 note featuring scientist Alan Turing was issued on June 2021 (PA)

But old currency bearing the faces of Adam Smith, Matthew Boulton and James Watt will no-longer be legal tender from next week.

Their replacements will be shinier and feature the images of Alan Turing on the £50 and painter J. M. W. Turner on the other side of the £20 note.

But those who happen to be sitting on a mass of paper notes will not lose out.

They can be taken to banks and exchanged for the new polymer notes and will not lose their value.

The polymer notes contain advanced security features which makes them very difficult to counterfeit (PA)

A decision to switch to the polymer notes aimed to make them more durable to wear and tear and combat counterfeiting amongst criminals.

Banks will refuse counterfeit notes even if they are passed to the owner innocently.

The synthetic notes will be replaced to allow notes with the image of King Charles to be distributed and will slowly replace notes bearing images of the late Queen.

The polymer notes being printed at the Royal Mint (PA)

First of all, new coins and notes need to be designed before they are minted, or printed.

Recommendations for new cash are sent to the Chancellor and the Royal Mint advisory committee and must first obtain royal approval.

They designs are selected before being approved by the Chancellor and then the King.

Once approved, old notes will then be destroyed and be composted.

Andrew Bailey (right) governor of the Bank of England gifts a new £50 note to Iain Standen, chief executive officer of Bletchley Park (PA)

The Queen's image currently faces to the right on coins but on any new ones the King will be seen facing left.

It is a tradition which dates back to the the 17th century to alternate the direction monarchs face

Coins bearing the Queen's face did not appear until 1953. a year after her accession to the throne.