THE environmental work of pupils at Okehampton Primary School caught the attention of the town mayor when they contacted him to raise concerns over plastic shopping bags.

Cllr the Rev Mike Davies was passed individual letters written by members of Kes Tor class at the school about the overuse of plastic shopping bags. The letters contained environmental information on how much energy is used to make one plastic bag, the average time a bag is used for, and that around 1,400 bags are used each year by the average household.

The letters emphasised the need to use reusable shopping bags and the requirement to educate people that plastic bags can be recycled.

At a recent council meeting, the mayor highlighted the increasing amount of rubbish in and around the town, and suggested a special day be set up in future to help 'Tidy up Okehampton'.

He said: 'I welcome as much community discussion and input into as many areas of town life as possible. It is wonderful that the younger generation are taking such care and attention concerning the current and future condition of Okehampton. The children have presented me with their concerns, now I will have to see what I can do.'