This is how long you can use your red passport for - as blue ones are set to be introduced next month

Blue passports will be issued for the first time in almost three decades from next month to mark Britain's departure from the European Union.

Championed by Brexiteers, the new-look documents will replace the burgundy passports which were rolled out in 1988.

The contract to produce the passports was controversially awarded to French firm Thales, but the documents will continue to be personalised with the holder's details in the UK.

Home Secretary Priti Patel holding a blue passport, which will be issued for the first time in almost three decades from next month to mark Britain's departure from the European Union (PA)

On Saturday it was announced the first batches of blue passports will be issued from the beginning of March.

However the Government has said it anticipates it will take a few months for all new passports will be blue - currently it is saying by mid-2020.

As a result some people ordering a new passport over the next couple of months could get a red or a blue passport.

All red passports can still be used for travel until they expire - so as long as you've got a decent chunk of time left on yours, you may not get a blue one any time soon.

This means if you recently renewed your passport and were sent a new red one, you'll be able to go another 10 years without getting a blue one.

As well as the colour change, the back cover of the new passports will now feature embossed floral emblems of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

A burgundy UK passport (Anthony Devlin/PA Wire)

Home Secretary Priti Patel said that by returning to the "iconic" blue and gold design, the passports will "once again be entwined with our national identity".

She said: "Leaving the European Union gave us a unique opportunity to restore our national identity and forge a new path in the world.

"By returning to the iconic blue and gold design, the British passport will once again be entwined with our national identity and I cannot wait to travel on one."

The new passports are said to be the greenest and most technologically advanced yet, with new and updated security features to keep personal data secure.

Blue passports were first used in 1921, and remained the colour of choice until the UK joined the EU (then the European Economic Community) and a change to burgundy was later agreed to harmonise designs across member states.