A Watford shopper is going green and beating the credit crunch, after finding a novel way to recycle her plastic bags and make unique Christmas gifts for her friends and family at the same time.

Lolly Macdonald, of Berry Avenue, Watford, has knitted a bright orange shopping bag, but instead of using wool, it is made entirely from Sainsbury's carrier bags.

Mrs Macdonald said: "I got the idea from seeing my friend Dorothy Swallow who had been given a peg bag made out of old plastic bags. So I thought 'I can do that’.

"I have been collecting plastic bags for sometime because they don’t give them out much now, so I had a few of Sainsbury’s orange ones indoors."

Mrs Macdonald borrowed the needles from her friend, who cast the first stitch. It then took her two weeks to finish it, which she did in front of the television.

Her daughter, Lolin Jones, said: "Mum told me she was getting me a bag for Christmas and I told her not to bother because I didn’t want her to spend money she hasn’t got on gifts. Little did I know I was getting a used plastic carry bag."

Mrs Macdonald showed off her creation, made up of 200 individual bags, at Sainsbury's Dome roundabout store, in St Albans Road, and deputy store manager Mike Thomas said he was "very impressed".

Mr Thomas said: "I didn't know what to expect but I was very impressed. It's great to see someone is taking the initiative with thinks like that. She's a shining light for all of us."