A WOMAN from Camelford is joining a national initiative to reduce the use of plastic bags.

Kimberley Jane, from Camelford, has been making Morsbags in her spare time, naming them ‘Camelford Carriers’. These up-cycled bags, originally created by Clare Mors when she was fed up of seeing plastic bags floating around London, are made from unwanted materials such as old duvet covers and curtains, to create unique and individual reusable bags. The bags are handed out for free to encourage the reduction of single-use plastic bags when shopping.

The Post has reported on the efforts from the Bude Baggers group, an enthusiastic bunch who have become a vital part of A Greener Bude. A new Morsbag group has recently been set up in Holsworthy.

Globally, over one million plastic bags are used every minute, which can very often be mistaken as food by marine wildlife.

One of the first steps forward was when the government introduced a 5p plastic bag levy in 2015, meaning customers would have to pay to use a plastic bag for their shopping and encouraging the idea of bringing your own bags.

A group of local ladies, Claire Hewlett, Clare Monson and Sarah Tweedie, recently set up Plastic Free Camelford, which is focusing on ridding the town and River Camel of litter and pollution, while Kimberley Jane has made her efforts to provide Morsbags more public on the Facebook page lovecamelford recently.

She posted a photograph of two of the bags that she had made, asking the Camelford community for any spare materials she can use to make more.

Having only recently started making Morsbags, Kimberley is looking forward to the prospect of making more.

She said: “I love sewing and thought it was a lovely idea, upcycling textiles and giving them away for free. I’m aware that Bude has a massive group, but I just wanted to set up as a maker here in Camelford. I put the appeal out on lovecamelford as I’d run out of fabric and any bags I make will be given away in Camelford. I’ve offered to show people how to make the bags during Camelford Fun Week and would be happy for people to add any bags made in the town to the tally of ‘Camelford Carriers’ on the Morsbags website.”

Kimberley would also be happy to hear from any other budding sewers and Camelford Carriers makers, to meet up regularly. She said: “If people are interested in meeting up on a regular basis, it’s something I could look into. At the minute, it’s just me doing something I love and hopefully making other people happy.

“The response for donations of fabric has been overwhelming and I’d like to thank those who have helped me out. There are some great people in our little town!”

Over 271,000 Morsbags have been made and distributed throughout the country. For more information on how to get involved, visit www.morsbags.com/get-involved/