Plastic bags galore in the centre of Bolton - and they have so many uses, from fashion statement to lining the waste bin

THEY may not bear the world's most exclusive labels.

But the humble supermarket carrier bag has become Bolton's favourite fashion accessory.

A straw poll of shoppers in the town has revealed a distinct lack of interest in Prada handbags and Gucci designer bags.

Instead, people are content to stroll through Victoria Square with a plastic bag bearing the name of a high street store.

Some folk are so attached to their cheap, disposable accessories that they use them to carry their lunch to work.

But even when they become worn out they have their use: to line bins the length and breadth of the borough.

The pattern is similar across the country, with industry sources estimating that 59pc of UK shoppers re-use plastic carrier bags for high street shopping and for disposing of rubbish.

The figures were compiled by the Department for Environment, Transport and Regions which is actively encouraging people to recycle their bags. In the North-west, 920 million carrier bags are used each year and that is enough to cover Bolton more than three times over.

They take 100 years to decompose.

A campaign spokesman said: "Supermarket carrier bags may not be glamorous but it's encouraging that people in Bolton are finding ways to reuse them -- we're clearly all bag ladies at heart." Top uses for a plastic bag Plastic bags can cushion breakable items when moving them in boxes;

Make Christmas wreaths and hide presents from the kids;

Keep clothes dry on canoeing trips;

Turn the big ones into ponchos;

Use them to make a kite;

Make a great suitcase for when you are spending the night with a friend.