A Wivenhoe store is spearheading a plastic bag purge - backed by award-winning author Bill Bryson.

The town's Co-op shop is one of five branches to stop providing free plastic carrier bags in a bid to cut the amount of rubbish ending up in landfill sites by getting shoppers to reuse bags.

If the pilot scheme is a success, more than 130 Co-op stores across East Anglia will follow the ban.

Conventional bags will be replaced with a range of eco-friendly alternatives. The trial stores will also sell special carrier bags designed to break down in home compost bins within 12 months.

Travel author Bill Bryson, who is also president of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, welcomed the move.

He said it would help cut the number of plastic bags littering the countryside.

"The magical plastic bag that doesn't consume natural resources to make, and disappears immediately without a trace, hasn't been invented yet, so we should congratulate the Co-op for leading activity that could improve our environment," he said.