The data shows that the number of fake notes removed from circulation in 2007 fell by 24% to 290,000, compared with 384,000 in 2006.

In turn, the fall in notional face value of counterfeits dropped by £1.8m to £5.8m, compared to £7.6m in 2006.

The bank also said that, on average in 2007, there were more than 2.2bn genuine notes in circulation, with a face value of just over £37bn.

In March this year, a Yorkshire woman was jailed for printing counterfeit notes and spending them in her local charity shop.

Last summer, a gang of five people were jailed for printing millions of pounds of counterfeit money from a post office in East London.

The gang, arrested in October 2006, was responsible for producing a quarter of the country's counterfeit notes.

The data for 2007 includes all counterfeits discovered in 2007 and received by the Bank of England by 27 February 2008.