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They may look like as if they come from a plague epidemic, but these photos show the shocking amounts of bacteria that grow on money.

Thousands of bacteria colonies were discovered on banknotes and coins chosen at random from scientists' pockets.

The experiment, which involved treating the coins and notes in a substance that allows bacteria to grow quickly, highlights how dirty handling money can be.

Thousands of bacteria colonies were discovered on notes and coins chosen at random from scientists' pockets. This the bacteria found on one five pound note

The money was collected from students at the University of Surrey.

It was then submerged in agar - a substance that allows bacteria to grow quickly - and then monitored for three to four days.

The students found thousands of bacteria colonies living on their money.

While most of the colourful blooms and spots of bacteria was found to be harmless, money has been known to carry dangerous diseases.

The most common type of bacteria they discovered living on our coinage was bacillus mycoides, which is harmless.

Dr Simon Park, a senior lecturer in molecular biology at the university, said: 'The most common types found are skin bacteria but money has also been shown to harbour MRSA and food poisoning bacteria in other related studies.' 

The experiment, which involved treating the coins in a substance that allows bacteria to grow quickly, highlights how dirty handling money can be. Among the bacteria found on a ten pound note is Bacillus mycoides (shown above). It's common in soil, so it's likely someone was gardening before handling cash

Currency collected from students were submerged in agar - a substance that allows bacteria to grow quickly - and then monitored for three to four days. This image shows bacteria found on a ten pound note

The scientists did find cases of staphylococcus aureus, which can cause boils and spots on the skin.

It is particularly dangerous to people whose immune systems may not be in peak condition, such as people in hospitals.

Around 20 per cent of people carry the bacteria in their nostrils, which means they likely touched their nose before handling money.

Dr Park added: 'We found that money, be it coins or notes, harbours very large numbers of bacteria.

'It is something that we all share so it passes through many many different hands, washed and unwashed. 

'It also gets kept in warm and moist pockets, which offer perfect conditions for bacterial growth and survival.

'Consequently, the populations of bacteria on currency are much larger and more diverse, and money is likely to carry disease causing bacteria.' 

While most of the colourful blooms and spots of bacteria was found to be harmless, money has been known to carry dangerous diseases.  This is the bacteria found on a five pound note, including one large bloom

Dr Simon Park, a senior lecturer in molecular biology at the university, said: 'The most common types [of bacteria] found are skin bacteria but money has also been shown to harbour MRSA and food poisoning bacteria in other related studies. A stock image is shown

After the experiment, the cash was washed and returned to the students.

Dr Park said: 'We wanted our undergraduates to get familiar with the fact we live in a bacteria world and bacteria is all around us, it's on anything we interact with.'  

The scientists did find cases of staphylococcus aureus, which can cause boils and spots on the skin, but this image shows bacteria from a five pound note, including some bright orange spores

Dr Park said: 'We wanted our undergraduates to get familiar with the fact we live in a bacteria world and bacteria is all around us, it's on anything we interact with.' This image shows a large spreading bacterial colony created from the grime on nine silver and copper coins