Tesco has removed single use carrier bags from three stores as part of a 10-week trial.

The multiple said it wanted to gauge the impact on bag usage by removing the bags, which cost customers 5p under the plastic bag levy.

The trial is running in Dundee, Aberdeen and Norwich. Customers at these stores can still buy a Bag for Life which they can reuse.

Single use carrier bags will still be available customers of Tesco’s dotcom delivery service.

Tesco announced last October that more than 1.5 billion single-use carrier bags had been saved by its customers since the introduction of the 5p levy a year earlier.

The figures equated to a 72% fall in the use of plastic bags in Tesco stores, while 57% of the retailer’s online shoppers opted for ‘bagless’ deliveries.