Smaller shops in England are to be forced to charge customers for plastic bags.

An exemption was in place for retailers with less than 250 staff meaning they could give out free carrier bags to customers.

But that will change tomorrow and a 5p levy is being imposed on small retailers as part of the government's 25-year environmental plan.

WATCH: Should smaller shops be made to charge for bags?

Figures from April 2016 to 2017 showed nine billion fewer plastic bags were used by shoppers since the ban was introduced in 2015.