Puffins, owls, bumblebees and hedgehogs will replace historical figures such as Winston Churchill on the Bank of England's next series of banknotes.

It comes after nearly half a million people took part in a controversial consultation to choose which animals should appear on Britain's paper money.

The move raises the questions of whether cash-strapped friends will perhaps be asking each other to 'lend us a puffin' or if they can 'spare a hedgehog' as the new notes are introduced over the next few years.

It ends a tradition going back to 1970 of featuring historical figures – starting with William Shakespeare – on UK banknotes.

And the decision to switch to animals has prompted major backlash, being described as a 'total bonkers' while Tory leader Kemi Badenoch complained the move was 'erasing our history'.

The four animals have been chosen after being whittled down from a shortlist of 18 announced earlier this year.

They will feature on the £5, £10, £20 and £50 but it has not yet been decided which. Other animals could also appear on the eventual designs. The banknote series will continue to feature a portrait of the monarch.

The month-long public consultation received 478,531 responses – the most ever for a banknote. Respondents placed 2,549,003 selections across the shortlist.

The humble buff-tailed bumblebee topped the list with 360,399 votes, more than 100,000 ahead of the European hedgehog on 256,665.

In third was the barn owl with 270,596. The Atlantic puffin came in sixth place with 183,137 but was selected above more popular animals because Bank officials decided that 'the inclusion of a marine animal will add variety to the series' and 'provide an opportunity to celebrate the British coastline'.

That meant the red fox with 244,651 votes and the common kingfisher with 211,277 missed out.

The animals will replace the current designs featuring Winston Churchill on the £5 note, Jane Austen on the £10, JMW Turner on £20 and Alan Turing on the £50 note.

The Bank said it would take a number of years to design, test and print the banknotes 'to make sure they are high-quality, resilient and accessible'.

Chief cashier Victoria Cleland said: 'I am delighted that nearly half a million people responded to our wildlife imagery consultation, showing that cash still matters.

'We have chosen four distinct and inspiring animals that not only showcase the great variety of wildlife we have in the UK but will also enhance the security of our banknotes.'

The Bank has said that while the use of cash for transactions has declined over the past decade, it remains the preferred payment method for about one in seven people and is used by many more.

Cash in circulation has continued to increase, reaching £91.5billion at the end of February 2026.

The Bank has previously run into controversy over banknote designs after campaigners complained that too few women had featured in recent years, prior to Jane Austen being added to the £10 note in 2017.

Its history has also proved uncomfortable due to links with slavery. In 2021, the Bank removed a series of paintings and busts of governors and directors from display as they had connections to the slave trade in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.