The old £10 note must be spent by March 2018, the Bank of England has revealed.

A use by date of March 1 has been slapped on the paper notes following the introduction of the plastic tenner on September 14.

However, old notes can be exchanged at the Bank once this point has passed.

The Bank introduced the paper £10 note featuring naturalist Charles Darwin on November 7, 2000. Around 55 per cent of the £10 notes in current circulation are made from polymer, while the rest - 359 million - are paper.

The new tenner, featuring a picture of author Jane Austen, is the first Bank of England note with a tactile feature to help blind and partially-sighted users.

Like the £5 note already in circulation featuring Sir Winston Churchill, the new £10 banknote is made from polymer, which is more durable and expected to last five years in total.

The transition to polymer has caused controversy after the Bank confirmed that an "extremely small amount" of tallow - or animal fat - was used to produce polymer pellets, which were part of the production process for creating the notes.

People who still have paper £5 notes can exchange them at the Bank of England in person, or via post by completing a form and sending the note to Department NEX, Bank of England, Threadneedle Street, London, EC2R 8AH.

Old pound coins can no longer be spent, but can be donated to charity or deposited into customer bank accounts.