And finally…Pudsey’s plastic fiver sells for £18,600

The note, designed by 12 year-old Kayla Robson, features a picture of Pudsey Bear raising a Saltire flag.

As well as its novel design, with only 50 notes produced, it is also one of the first polymer notes issued by the bank.

The serial numbers were also unique, with the first 40 using the code PUDSEY01 to PUDSEY40 while the remaining 10 would be personalised to buyers.

Although some of the notes were auctioned last year, the latest sale coincided with the release of the general issue polymer £5 notes, which were made available to the public.

However, it had still only been expected to fetch between £1,000 and £1,200.

But that was blown out of the water by an anonymous collector who bid £15,500 at a Spink’s World Banknotes auction in London on Tuesday, with the final amount paid rising to £18,600 once buyer’s premiums were added.

Monica Kruber, a specialist in Spink’s banknote department, said: “This Pudsey £5 note was designed by a young lady from Dundee.