Plastic bags could soon become a thing of the past in Sussex.

Towns and villages across the county are backing calls for the Government to give greater powers to local authorities to be able to ban plastic bags completely.

More than 70 towns and villages in the UK are lobbying the Government for the right to ban plastic bags.

At the moment local authorities have no power to control whether businesses distribute bags, so any agreements have to be made with the goodwill of the shops.

More densely populated areas that have many shops and large chain stores have so far found it impossible to outlaw carriers, despite the efforts of places such as Brighton and Hove.

Meanwhile smaller towns and villages have had some success in diminishing the amount of plastic waste they generate.

They include Amberley, Chichester, Eastbourne, Forest Row and Henfield. In September Brighton and Hove City Councillors unanimously voted to attempt to outlaw carrier bags.

Already Amberley is on its way to becoming a bag-free village.

Following in the footsteps of the eco pioneer Modbury in Devon, every household in Amberley was given a reusable bag about two months ago.

The bags were made by Bags2Keep, the company that made the cloth bags used in Modbury. The Amberley Shop Trust which owns the 999-year lease on the village shop ordered 300 unbleached bags decorated with organic ink and distributed them.

Since then the shop, which is the only one in the village, has reduced the number of plastic carriers it gives out by 70 per cent. Most locals use their cloth bag and disposable carriers are usually only requested by visitors. The cloth bags cost £1.70 each and were paid for by the trust. The shop also has a durable carrier bag for sale at 50p.

Colin Woods, the shop's owner, said: "We are a little village in a hamlet under the South Downs. One of the things we wanted to do is keep it a beautiful village so the way to do it is to try to stop as much litter and carrier bags and plastics and things like that.

"We have got a beautiful village and we want to keep it that way."

In Henfield, the community partnership is researching whether such a scheme would work for the town and if it can raise enough funds.

Members have been talking to local shops and councils. Many businesses, including the village's Budgens supermarket, have expressed an interest.

Tony Jackson, chairman of the community partnership, said: "The reaction has been pretty positive.

"Since we started looking at this two or three months ago, the momentum nationally and locally has increased.

"I think there is quite a lot of interest."

In Forest Row, the Co-op has introduced reusable fabric bags and now gives away 4,000 plastic bags a week, compared to 8,000 before the scheme started.

Do you back a ban on plastic bags? Or has a shop near where you live already banned plastic bags? Tell us your views below.