WH Smith joins Daily Mail's campaign to banish free plastic carrier bags

After a successful trial in the North-West and Midlands, the chain is extending its ban on single use bags to shops across the South-West and South Wales.

If shoppers continue to back the move, a nationwide ban is expected to follow next year.

Bag banishers: WH Smith has joined the Daily Mail's campaign to banish the bags

The decision follows the success of the Daily Mail's Banish the Bags campaign to stop plastic pollution.

It won support from leaders of all political parties, community groups and most consumers.

Gordon Brown has given supermarkets until next spring to cut the number of free plastic bags they give out by 70 per cent, from 9.1billion to 3.9billion.

Marks & Spencer has seen a reduction of 80 per cent after imposing a 5p charge in May, while the National Trust revealed a reduction of 95 per cent following a charge at its 250 outlets.

Woolworths charges 3p per carrier in some cities and plans to scrap free ones by 2009. Britain's fastest growing retailers, Aldi, Lidl and Netto, all charge.

WH Smith has seen a 12 per cent fall in carrier bag use in the last year from

1.65million bags to 1.5million since it stopped automatically giving out bags at the tills. During the trial, it has charged a penny for every bag.