The Bank of England is set to reveal the exact design of its first plastic banknote that can survive the washing machine and is practically impossible to rip.

The new five pound note, which will be unveiled at Blenheim Palace on Thursday, will be printed on the thin and flexible plastic polymer.

The notes will be issued in September and will be around 15 per cent smaller than the fivers currently in circulation.

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The new five pound note will be printed on the thin and flexible plastic polymer and will be around 15 per cent smaller than the paper ones currently in circulation

Around 440 million of them will be available from autumn and will be feature Sir Winston Churchill in place of prison reformer Elizabeth Fry.

Ten and twenty pound notes will follow later but the Bank of England is still undecided as to whether to print fifty pound notes on polymer.

The new material will be a lot more durable than the current paper notes, which can be tainted by dirt and destroyed in the washing machine.

The polymer notes can be wiped clean of liquid and will be very difficult to tear, meaning they can survive a 90C cycle.

It is also hoped that the new notes will be able to last around five years, compared to the maximum life expectancy of the current note, which is around two years, according to the Sunday Times.

Printing fewer notes over ten years should save the Bank of England around £100 million.

Novelist Jane Austen was picked to feature on the polymer ten pound notes, which will enter circulation next summer

English Romanticist landscape painter Joseph Mallord William Turner will be the face of the new twenty pound note set to be distributed in 2020

Stopping fraudsters is another potential positive as the Bank predicts the now notes will be difficult to copy successfully.

It did warn to check how much money you are handing over in a shop when using the polymer notes however, as they have a tendency to stick together.

The 2013 announcement to replace Elizabeth Fry with Sir Winston Churchill caused a stir when people pointed out that the Queen would be the only woman featured on British bank notes.

A petition led to novelist Jane Austen being picked as the face of the polymer ten pound notes, which will enter circulation next summer.

Meanwhile English Romanticist landscape painter Joseph Mallord William Turner will be the face of the new twenty pound note set to be distributed in 2020.

The new polymer fivers will be much more durable than the current paper notes (pictured), which can be tainted by dirt and destroyed in the washing machine

The introduction of the new polymer notes will see the old ones being withdrawn instantaneously.

It will also see Britain join a whole host of other countries who already use the polymer notes after they were first launched in Australia in 1988.

Today there are more than 30 countries who print their currency onto the thin and flexible plastic.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, Victoria Cleland, the chief cashier of the Bank of England, said the notes had been popular among members of the public, who dubbed them 'cool'.

She added that while the notes are capable of withstanding a cycle in the washing machine, she doesn't encourage people to try as it will inevitably begin to weaken it.