Innovia Group has officially opened its new bank note plant at Wigton that will manufacture the Bank of England's new polymer notes.

The first polymer £5 notes, featuring Sir Winston Churchill, are due to enter circulation on Tuesday followed by a £10 note next summer.

Innovia has invested £40 million to gear up for the contract, adding a new polypropylene film line and building an opacification plant that coats the clear polymer film and adds security features before the notes are sent for printing by De La Rue in Essex.

Rory Stewart, MP for Penrith and the Border, unveiled a plaque to formally open the high-security site, which has created 80 jobs.

He said: “This plant represents the very best of Cumbria.

"We are showing here in Wigton some of the most impressive technology in the world.

“I see this as a fantastic vote of confidence because the Bank of England is the most respected financial institution in the world and it has chosen to manufacture its banknotes here in Wigton. That's an extraordinary thing.”

The VIP guests included Cumbria’s Lord Lieutenant, Claire Hensman, a Bank of England representative, council leaders and the mayor of Wigton, Alan Pitcher.

Mark Robertshaw, chief executive of Innovia Group, said: “It's a very proud moment for everyone at Innovia.

“We are delighted and honoured to be part of the Bank of England's introduction of polymer notes in the UK.

"It's a product fundamental to our economy and to every person in the country, day in, day out.”

He pointed that polymer banknotes last three-to-five times longer than their paper equivalents, are harder to counterfeit and more environmentally friendly because of their long life and recyclability.

Innovia's banknote division, Innovia Security, produces 99 per cent of all the 50bn polymer notes in circulation across the world.

Countries using its Guardian material include Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. The Bank of England is its 25th customer.

The new £5 notes have been printed on material manufactured at another Innovia plant in Australia.

But all the polymer £10 notes will be 'Made in Wigton' and the firm looks set to secure the contract for £20 notes, due to enter circulation in 2020.

And it hopes that the Wigton site will eventually produce notes for other central banks.

Mr Robertshaw said: “Only three per cent of [the world's] banknotes are on polymer. There is still 97 per cent of the market to go.

"Other countries will see the light and their notes will be manufactured at this site.”

By January, more than half of paper £5 notes will have been replaced by Innovia's polymer, and paper fivers will cease to be legal tender from May next year.