Bag lady gets carried away

Carol Vaughan is a bag lady and proud of it - after collecting more than 8,000 carrier bags.

The 63-year-old from Great Barr, who says she would never throw her unusual collection away, has bags dating back to the 1950s.

She has even managed to enlist the help of friends and neighbours, who have helped her build up the unique collection.

"When people heard about my hobby I started to receive anonymous donations in the post," she said."Because collecting carrier bags is such an usual hobby people think about me when they have one.

"It is more fun for people to donate it to my collection than to recycle it."

But Carol is particular about the kind of carrier bags she collects.

"They don't make them like they used to because there are a lot of flimsy, white ones around, which are only good as bin liners," she said.

"My favourite ones are the Christmas carrier bags from department stores and markets.

"I can't understand today's throw away culture and it surprises me when I hear people moan about the number of carrier bags they have.

"I love them because they brighten up my home and make me smile."

Carol said she didn't start collecting carrier bags until she gave up her job 24 years ago to look after her mother.

Her hobby was started when a friend came back from a trip to Blackpool with a carrier bag for her and Carol couldn't bear to throw it away.