Contactless card fraud has overtaken cheque scams for the first time as experts warn the 'wave and pay' limit should not be lifted.

The latest figures from UK Finance show that contactless card fraud overtook cheque fraud in the first half of 2017, hitting £5.6million.

Finance experts have warned banks against raising the £30 limit, for payments which do not require a pin number, to avoid incentivising more criminals to steal them.

It comes after the Bank of England's chief cashier Victoria Cleland, she had heard instances of money being "taken off contactless when you walk past something" and does not use the cards herself.