The message
from Tony Clayton contains these words:

The real problem is that cashpoints do not issue 5-pound notes, so new ones
do not get issued so readily. There is a perceived shortage of these notes,
and so they probably do not get paid in to banks as often as the 10 and 20's
do, thus continuing in circulation scrumpled into the pocket or purse!

5-pound notes haven't been generally issued by ATMs for years, but the
current situation has only developed in the last 2-3. The Bank of
England attributes it to the reluctance / failure of commercial banks to
draw down on its stocks.

As an experiment I withdrew £100 in 5-pound notes in my local bank
today. After getting a bit of a funny look at this odd request they
rummaged around in three tills to put this amount together.

Examining them only five are in a clean and flat condition. The others
form a sticky dirty pile of crumpled paper. Three are ripped. Nine
(including the one in best condition) were Lowthers, showing how old
they are.

Jez
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