Your £10 note probably has 600 people's germs on it

There are over 5,000 germs on your hands at any given one time, so the thought of how many other hands have held the crumpled ten pound note you’re about to pay with is, well, mildly terrifying.

The following Statista graph not only tells you how many transactions all the banknotes have been in, but also their average lifespan.

According to research conducted by Onstride the average life span of a ten pound note is 36 months, and in that time it is exchanged from hand - to - hand 198 times a year, which totals to almost 600 in three years.

A five pound note, which has the shortest lifespan of just under two years still changes hands 258 times. And there are currently 305 million of them in circulation.

The new polymer blend banknotes will have a longer lifespan; a five pound note is expected to last almost 5 years, and the 10 pound note will be seven and a half years.

Unfortunately for the more squeamish of the British population, it means more bacteria-ridden hands will have touched your money.

The solution? Bank cards at the market; bank cards for the corner shop. Bank cards everywhere.

More: Someone has come up with awesome alternative UK banknotes featuring the NHS, BBC and women