The number of cash machines in the UK has fallen and withdrawals have dropped as shoppers turn to cards, figures show.

As retail stores closed, the number of ATMs fell by 440 between April and June compared with the previous three months, the Payments Council said.

Withdrawals from cash machines fell by £1.6bn compared with a year ago, a dip of 3.2%. Cheque usage also slumped as people used debit cards for daily purchases.

Steven Jackson debt expert at beatmydebt.com is concerned that the increased use of plastic cards will lead to greater personal debt problems.

"The problem with using plastic is that it is easy to spend money when you can not really afford to do so. If you pay for things with cash, you feel that real money is disappearing and you are less likely to overspend. People often do not think about what they have spent on their plasic cards before it is too late and this leads to serious debt problems" Jackson warned.

Years away from cashless society 

The Payments Council has set a target date of October 2018 for the phasing out of cheques, if adequate alternatives are developed.

"We use cash less where there is an easy alternative, but we are years away from cash falling out of fashion," said spokeswoman Sandra Quinn.

The figures also reveal the effect of the ash cloud disruption on card bookings of air flights.

Card spending on airline tickets fell by 13% in the second three months of the year, compared with the same period a year earlier. Revenues dropped by 18% in the first half of the year in airport shops.

Meanwhile, spending rose on rail (8%), bus (14%), and sea transport (16%) in the first six months of the year compared with the first half of 2009.