As part of its monthly Make the Difference campaign, staff at the Sainsbury's store in Bourne handed out fridge magnets and car stickers to customers on Saturday reminding them to "take an old bag shopping."

Shoppers with unusual reusable bags were also rewarded with gift vouchers to use in store.

Alison Clark, from Sainsbury's, said the event was a big success.

"It was an initiative to help our customers remember to bring reusable bags shopping," she said. "While recognising that some customers are doing a brilliant job, we also know some can be a bit forgetful and the response we have had in store is that people have reusable bags but forget to bring them.

"We had some customers bring in some unusual bags, including a lady with a bag she bought in Hawaii 10 years ago and a woman who makes her own for herself and her friends.

"It was just a different approach and we had an excellent response to it."