Cumbria is gearing up for change, as the new £1 coin comes into currency today.

The coin has been designed especially to combat fraudsters, as the Royal Mint estimates one in every 30 pound coins currently in circulation is a fake.

The 'round pound' has been in operation for 30 years, after it was brought in to replace the £1 note.

The new coin has been described as the most secure coin in the world and boasts high-tech features, including a hologram.

There are concerns consumers craving a snack or trying to park may face confusion when they attempt to pay at coin-operated machines, as some will not immediately accept the new coin. They may find themselves rifling through their wallets for an old round pound.

However, Cumbria's district, borough and city councils are determined not to be caught out, and most have already taken steps to ensure key machines - such as those in car parks - have been upgraded.

Allerdale council's parking meters are also set up for the new £1 coins, with a spokeswoman adding: "Our parking metres are fairly new and were already set up for the new coin, so the change is not going to cost us anything extra."

Among those not quite ready for the 12-sided coin is Copeland - but residents are reassured plans are already underway to rectify that.

Julie Betteridge, Copeland Council’s director for customer and community services, said: “We planned the upgrade to accommodate the coin a few months ago. We will be upgrading all the machines in early May at a cost of £2,376.

"This means we will be ready in plenty of time for the phasing out of the old coin in September.

"Until May people can still use the old coins and our machines are also able to take credit card payments.”

A Carlisle City Council spokesman said: “The new machines in our car parks are tuned to accept the new £1 coin and the coin counter used for cash collection is also configured.”

Eden council have also prepared for the change and have already installed new parking metres which are compatible with the new £1 coin in their off street car parks.

It is not just car parks and change machines which are facing the issue of adaptation: vending machines, amusement arcades and even juke boxes all need to be altered.

Fortunately local pubs generally hire their games machines and juke boxes, so many are relying on the providers to be up-to-speed.

Theresa Bowness, of the Thomas Henry in Maryport, said: "I hadn't even realied that the new coin was coming in so soon.

"We hire our machines and the company we hire from will ensure that they are all working properly."

And, at Admiral amusement centre, King Street, Whitehaven, the slot machines have been altered to accept the new coins.

Staff member Lindsey Devlin said: "We had all of our machines changed to take them, the man who did it had been to a lot of arcades. He just changed the coin rack.

"We've ordered pound coins in, if we get some of the new ones then we are ready for them. I don't think it will make much difference for us."

The Automatic Vending Association (AVA) estimates that when the new coin goes into circulation, around 85% of vending machines will be able to accept the new £1 coin and all will still accept the old coin.

It said that with around half a million vending machines across the UK, ensuring all of them are upgraded is a "major operation".

The body has estimated that all vending machines will be fully upgraded by the end of the transition period on October 15.

The old coin and the new coin will co-exist together for a period of around six months, until the round pound ceases to be legal tender on October 15.

The new coins have been made at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, South Wales, at a rate of three million per day.

They have a gold-coloured outer ring and a silver-coloured inner ring and are based on the design of the old 12-sided threepenny bit, which went out of circulation in 1971.

It might take a few days or weeks for people to start seeing the new £1 coins turn up in their change as they gradually filter into general use.