A formerly loyal Asda shopper says he is now boycotting the chain because of the high price of their plastic bags.

Stephen Evans, 37, says he would normally buy six bags for his big weekly shop in Greater Manchester, but the 30p price tag for each carrier bag is now too expensive.

He said if the supermarket ‘want a fight’ about the issue, they’ve ‘found the right one to do it with’, given his history campaigning on knife crime and homelessness.

But Asda have defended the price, saying the bags are not intended to be disposable but should be brought back and reused each shop.

They added that the Bags for Life can be replaced free of charge if they are worn out.

Mr Evans claims however that their ‘disgusting’ price has made him ‘sick with stress’.

‘I’ve been to the doctors, and I got a sick note because I’m just so stressed with it all,’ he said.

Life it hard enough without @asda my local store putting prices up so much and 30p each carrier bag thanks to @asda Christmas will be cancelled I cannot even afford to get my mum a present let alone Christmas dinner @kentowle @simonjgregg 💔😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

‘I said that I’ve had enough, I can’t afford to live as it is.

‘I’ve been signed off for depression now because of this and a few other things going on. But this just made it worse.

‘We get about six bags when we do our shopping, and it all adds up at the end of the month.

‘If I get a big shop from Asda and have to get a taxi home, that’s an added £5. If I’m paying all that for six bags, then it all adds up.’

Mr Evans, from Ashton-Under-Lyne, says he and his family had been loyal Asda shoppers for 15 years until recently.

The charity volunteer said he has now decided to ‘boycott’ the supermarket due to spending around £1.80 a week on the plastic bags – more than £30 a year.

He would now rather get the bus to a different shop, where he claims that the bags are more affordable, instead of going to a supermarket that’s ‘ripping their customers off’ during the cost-of-living crisis.

Asda’s 30p price is matched by rivals Sainsbury’s and Tesco, however Aldi and Lidl are both cheaper at 25p and 20p respectively and Morrisons sells paper bags for just 10p.

Stephen said: ‘If we all stop shopping there, they’ll have to stand up and listen – or they’ll lose their money.

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