Old paper-based £10 notes will cease to be legal tender and could soon be refused at tills across the nation.

Notes featuring Charles Darwin should be spent now or never.

The almost 18-year-old paper notes, introduced in September 2000 will no longer be legitimate currency after March 1 2018 .

However that doesn't mean hard-earned cash will turn into Monopoly money.

Some bank are set to accept the expired notes after the deadline, according to our sister site Glasgow Live.

It is best to check with bank branches as deadlines will differ from company to company.

The safest bet will be to hand the cash back to the Bank of England which will accept notes well past the deadline.

The Bank of England said: "We can either pay your money into a bank account - normally within 10 working days - or give you new banknotes."

The old £10 note were issued in September 2000

Currently, both the paper note and the polymer one, are in a period of dual circulation.

Why is the old £10 not phased out?

The polymer tenner entered circulation on September 14 2017 .

It features Jane Austen on it, and came one year after the polymer £5 note was released.

Production of the note began in August last year, and in three years time it will be followed by a new polymer £20 note which will feature the British painter JMW Turner.

The Bank of England printed 10 billion of the polymer tenners. The material is a thin, flexible plastic which is environmentally friendly, in comparison to paper, due to its durability.

Polymer notes are believed to have a lower carbon footprint than paper ones, according to The Carbon Trust.

The carbon footprint of a £10 polymer banknote is 8% lower than a £10 paper one.

What are the design features of the polymer £10 note?

The new note features a portrait of author Jane Austen

Denomination numeral

The large number 10 and £ symbol in the top-left hand corner of the front of the note help you easily see its value. There is also a slightly smaller number 10 in the top-right corner.

Recognitionsymbol

For the partially sighted, it has a densely coloured orange diamond on the front.

Unique numbering

A unique serial number is printed horizontally and vertically on the back of the note. The horizontal numbers is in the bottom right corner.

It is made up of multi-coloured letters and numbers, which increase in height from left to right.

The vertical number runs down the left-hand side and the numbers and letters are the same height and colour.

Copyright symbol

The international copyright symbol is included on the front and the back of the £10 note, around the edge of the watermark area.