FOR those who admit that money burns a hole in their pocket, Paddock Wood's first £5-only cash machine is a potential hit – but first they have to find it.

The new ATM – one of just 21 across the country to dispense only fivers, with a maximum withdrawal of £50 – is part of an experiment by the Bank of England to put more low-denomination notes into circulation.

Bank chiefs also hope the scheme will encourage people on limited budgets to spend less.

But the cash dispenser is tucked away in a corner behind racks of greetings cards at the back of Martin's newsagents, in Commercial Road, and for many its whereabouts remains as elusive as that last crumpled note at the end of a heavy night.

"What cash machine?" said one customer approached by the Courier as he left the town centre shop.

"Is there one in there?" said puzzled resident Faye Martin, who nevertheless approved of the scheme.

"If you want to get out just a fiver, then that's fine," she said. "I think it's a good idea."

Her views were shared by a group of local teenagers.

"I always only want to get out a cheeky fiver," said Mascalls School student Richard Donaldson, 17, "so, yes, it's an excellent idea."

His friend Ryan Tierney, 17, nodded approvingly: "It's good you can only get out £5 because if you've got a lot of money in your pocket, you'll spend it."

While agreeing she often struggles to find machines with fivers, as most dispense only £10s and £20s, Helen Wren, of Lucks Lane, was less impressed by the scheme's proposal to curb spending.

"I don't need a machine to control my budget," she said.

Ron Delnevo, managing director of Bank Machine, which has introduced the ATMs, said: "This is about real people on real budgets facing their own spending cuts.

"There is cast-iron proof that cash – and small denominations in particular – helps people to budget, especially during these financially stretching times."