The BBC's Russel Hayes: A hologram is one of a number of new security features

The £20 note is currently the most popular note for fakers to copy and the Bank hopes its new version will thwart their efforts.

In the new note, a portrait of Edward Elgar, the composer of the popular Enigma Variations, has replaced that of scientist, Sir Michael Faraday.

He beat off challenges from 50 other candidates including novelist Jane Austen.

The Bank hopes the great British composer's famous bushy moustache will prove difficult to replicate.

However his facial hair will not be the only barrier to counterfeiters.

A host of other security measures including a redesigned foil strip, microscopic lettering and fluorescent numbers will also make life more difficult for criminals.

Merlyn Lowther: We are taking advantage of technological advancements

Merlyn Lowther, the Bank's chief cashier, said: "Only a tiny fraction of 1% of notes in circulation are counterfeit, so we wouldn't want the public to worry about counterfeiting.

"But we do need to take the threat seriously and stay one step ahead.

"The Bank is continually assessing developments in printing and anti-counterfeiting technology."

Family pride

Elgar's family is delighted at the recognition the famous man is receiving and say he would have been amused that his moustache was being put to such a useful purpose.

Edward Elgar replaces Sir Michael Faraday

Elgar's godson Wulstan Atkins said: "He liked his moustache very much.

"He would be the first to appreciate that the complexity of that would be very difficult to copy and it would have given him real pleasure to know that."

The old note, introduced in September 1993, will remain legal tender "for some time" after it ceases to be in active circulation, the Bank said.