A new polymer £50 note will enter circulation later this year - but how can you tell if it is fake?

The new banknote features scientist Alan Turing on it and will enter general circulation for the first time in June.

The note will join the Sir Winston Churchill £5, the Jane Austen £10 and the JMW Turner £20, meaning all Bank of England banknotes will be available in polymer.

Ultimately, the primary purpose of the new polymer bank notes is to reduce the chances of counterfeiting.

They also last longer.

Dorset Echo: The new Alan Turing £50 note will be released in June - on his birthdayThe new Alan Turing £50 note will be released in June - on his birthday

In 2015 around 243,000 Bank of England counterfeit banknotes were taken out of circulation with a face value of five million pounds.

According to The Bank of England, the new polymer notes are designed to incorporate a number of new security features that will make them a lot harder to replicate.

Counterfeiters won’t be able to get their hands on the polymer substrate used in the actual notes, meaning they’ll have to produce a substitute material. 

There are simple ways to tell whether a paper or polymer banknote is real or fake.

We run through the things to look out for:

1. Changing hologram

When the note is tilted from side to side, the hologram at the bottom should alternate the words "Five/Ten/Twenty/Fifty" and "Pounds".

2. See-through windows

There are two of these - one located about a third of the way across the note, the other in the bottom corner.

The main window should have a blue and gold foil image on the front, and it should be silver on the back.

3. Queen in the window

The queen's portrait should be visible in the main window, with 'Bank of England' printed twice around the edge.

4. Foil crown

A silver foil patch with a 3D image of the coronation crown is located above the see-through window on the front.

5. Purple patch

Directly behind the silver crown, on the back of the note, should be a round purple patch with the letter T in it.

Dorset Echo:

6. Raised print

The words Bank of England on the front of the note are in raised print.

7. The small print

There should be no smudging on the note and if you use a magnifying glass you will see its value in tiny letters and numbers below the Queen's head.

8. Ultraviolet 20

Under a UV light, the number is visible in bright red and green on the front, over the words Bank of England.