AMMANFORD shoppers have played their part in donating £68,000 to five fantastic Welsh causes – all because they forgot their carrier bags.

Customers at the Wilko stores in Carregamman have been paying five pence every time they have needed a carrier bag.

During the past 12 months, Wilko has handed out 1.8million bags to customers in its 25 Welsh stores, generating £67,367 in cash.

The money raised will be split between Keep Wales Tidy, Ty Hafan, Wales Air Ambulance, Age UK Cymru and The Pettifor Trust. Each of the causes is set to receive £13,473.

A Wilko spokesman said the charities had been specifically chosen because of the different ways they benefited Wales – whether providing emergency air cover for those facing life-threatening injuries, helping the elderly, supporting sick children, keeping the streets clean or helping animal charities.

Ian Jefferies, store manager at the Ammanford Wilko, said: “Once again this donation of bag charges has helped us to raise an amazing amount in just 12 months.

“I’m glad our store got the chance to be part of this great scheme for the third year, which should help make the Carmarthenshire community a better place for everyone, by supporting great causes and cutting down on litter.”

Katie Burney, charity officer at Wilko head office, said: “We were very happy to donate the money raised through the carrier bag charge to these five very worthy charities and would like to thank our customers in Carmarthenshire for their continued support.

“Each of the recipients plays an important part in the Welsh community and we’re sure a donation of nearly £13,500 will go a long way towards helping them continue their invaluable work across the country.

“At Wilko, we are keen to encourage our customers to re-use and recycle and have a wide range of re-usable bags available to further help the environment.”