A Brit Award winning musician is one of several celebrated Westcountry personalities featuring on a new range of local currency notes.

Rumours that the folk singer Ben Howard would be one of the faces of the new Totnes pound notes have been circulating for months and were finally confirmed at the launch event last week.

The Devon-raised artist, whose debut album Every Kingdom reached number four in the charts, features on the t£10 note, alongside the author Mary Wesley who is pictured on the t£1 note and the mathematician and inventor Charles Babbage on the t£5 note.

Dorothy Elmhirst, co-founder of the Dartington Hall Trust, was chosen to be the face of the t£21 - the UK’s first £21 note.

Speaking at the launch event, Mr Howard recollected the first time he was approached about appearing on the new denominations.

“When I was first asked there was definitely half of me thinking ‘that’s an amazing idea!’ and the other half of me thinking ‘that’s a terrible idea!’,” he admitted.

“But they persevered with keeping in touch with me, and I’m very proud to be part of the whole project to be honest”.

“I’m very much part of a supermarket generation. But I’m here with a group of friends and we’re very conscious about the importance of where we spend our money, so it’s great to be part of the project and to have my face on a note”.

The Totnes pound was introduced as the country’s first local currency scheme in 2007 and has gone on to inspire a number of similar projects in Brixton and Bristol.

Rob Hopkins, of Transition Town Totnes, said the organisation was thrilled that Mr Howard was able to attend the event.

“It represents the town celebrating what he has already achieved and will no doubt yet go on to achieve,” he said.

“The new Pounds once again represent Totnes leading by example and showing what’s possible with a little imagination, creativity and a streak of independence.”

The launch of the new notes was followed by an announcement that Totnes will be the first town to implement a new electronic local currency scheme, which is due to launch in the autumn.