THE new £1 coin has cost Wiltshire Council £25,000 – and it hasn’t even been released to the public yet.

The Council has been forced to spend £25,000 on updating ticket machines at car parks across the county so that a new, 12-sided coin will be accepted.

The lighter and larger £1 coin is being introduced across the country on March 28 in a bid to tackle counterfeit money.

But the change has forced councils across the UK to adapt ticket machines and other machinery reliant on money to make sure the new tender is accepted.

Eighty-five machines at car parks across Wiltshire have been updated so that the new currency will be valid.

A Wiltshire Council spokesperson said: “We have had to update our machines to ensure they are able to accept the new pound coins coming into circulation.

“This has cost the council around £25,000 to update 85 machines across Wiltshire.

“As more people are now paying using mobile phones we have managed to keep the cost down by reducing the overall number of machines in the county.

“We have also ensured any machines recently replaced on our rolling replacement programme are able to accept the new shaped currency.”