THE Ludlow plastics group has launched a ‘raid’ on a town centre supermarket.

They took the step as part of a campaign against what they describe as the needless use of plastic packaging.

Campaigners met at the bottom of Corve Street just before midday last Friday.

There were about 40 campaigners who came together outside Myriad Organics, many of them carrying placards.

They then crossed the road and went into the Tesco supermarket where the protesters did their shopping in the normal way and paid at the checkout.

But when they had paid, they started to remove the packaging, which was then handed to staff.

“We met outside Myriads, handed out our placards, and then marched over the road to Tesco, did our unwrapping, so much plastic, and got the manager in quite a state which meant we were doing a good job,” said Judy Cox from the plastics group.

“Then after posing with our plastic, we all went to the Brewery for coffee and a review.”

The demonstration was peaceful, and Judy Cox from the Plastic Free Ludlow group said that staff at the store did not seem to the phased by the action (which has been taken in supermarkets elsewhere) although there may have been complaints from other shoppers waiting in the queue.

Formed last year by Lady Caroline Plymouth, the Plastic Free Ludlow group wants to raise awareness of the problem of plastics and the damage that they do to the environment.

The group has met independent shops in Ludlow, some of which have taken steps to go plastic-free or cut down on the use of plastic packaging.

But the group says that to make significant progress it will be necessary for the large supermarket chains to take more steps to reduce the use of plastics.

Ms Cox said that while the large supermarkets claim they are taking steps it is too little.

She says that packaging that breaks down naturally in the environment is available and that a company in Ludlow is making a mushroom-based material.

The Plastic Free Ludlow group is one of a number of environmental groups in the town. There is a local branch of Extinction Rebellion that took part in protests in London in the autumn and the Ludlow 21 environmental group has been active for many years.

At the end of November hundreds of people took part in a town centre demonstration organised by Islabikes.