Meet Sarah Jessop - bag lady!

Sarah's mum taught her to sew one afternoon

If you were walking down the street and someone tried to give you something for free, how would you react? Run the other way or stop and find out more?

Sarah Jessop from Bickerstaffe is one of the people who might try and give you something for nothing.

She makes reusable bags out of fabric and hands them out in a bid to highlight the damage that plastic carrier bags cause to the eco system.

And she's been doing it from a well-known plinth in London!

Sarah was selected to take part in Antony Gormley's One & Other project on Tuesday 22 September from 12 noon until 1pm on the 4th plinth in Trafalgar Square, London.

Urban jellyfish

She was sewing reusable, upcycled shopping bags called Morsbags, and throwing them into the crowd in the hope that people will use them instead of environmentally-unfriendly plastic ones.

A brave thing to do - she's scared of heights.

Morsbags are made from old duvet covers, curtains, or any old fabric and given away free to demonstrate how small actions can make a big difference.

Sarah explains, "Morsbags was started by Claire Morsman (hence the name!) in January 2007. Claire found the body of a dead bird tangled up in an old plastic bag and knew she had to do something.

"She lives on a canal and was frustrated by the endless plastic bags which floated past her home like urban jellyfish.

MORSBAGS There are 1035 groups and individuals worldwide making the bags, and over 50,000 have now been made and given away Upcycling is where waste materials are used to make new products

"Claire asked her mum to help her design a simple bag that anyone could make, whatever their ability. From these humble beginnings Morsbags has continued to grow, mostly through word of mouth, and now over 50,000 have been made worldwide."

Sarah's been involved since July 2007 and so far has made 2250 of the bags: "I had always been interested in the environment and I thought it was a fantastic idea... an easy way for individuals to make a difference.

"There was however one slight problem, I couldn't sew and didn't own a machine. I phoned my mum and asked her to teach me how to sew, I had my lesson that afternoon and have never looked back."

That first bag took two hours to make, but Sarah can now whip one up in 15 minutes. Her sewing skills have improved greatly too, so much so she now makes clothes for herself, "Oh and a pigeon costume."

Pigeon costume?

"I started working part-time for my sister-in-law in her fancy dress shop about twelve months ago and I've made lots of costumes too."

Whilst on the plinth, Sarah hoped to give away at least 150 bags, "I had some friends and fellow Morsbaggers supporting me on the ground. I wasn't sure how many I'd make as I only had an hour and a hand crank sewing machine as there is no electricity supply.

Sarah gets ready to chuck a bag off the plinth

Something for nowt

"I had some bags part sewn so I could complete them on the plinth. I also talked people through making a bag from scratch... although I was a bit worried about falling off the plinth!"

So how do people react when Sarah tries to give them something for nowt? "Most people are surprised and shocked, and often are worried what the catch is because they are given out for free. But there really isn't one.

"All I ask is that people stop and think about their plastic bag consumption and try to remember to carry a bag and not rely on carrier bags. I always try to carry a few spare with me, just in case I see somebody in need of a bag. I have only ever had a positive response from people."

"Over one million plastic bags are consumed per minute globally. They litter our towns and cities and end up in our oceans, where marine wildlife mistake them for food, eat them and then often die. Making reusable bags helps with immediate effect. It's that simple!"

And what do your relatives make of it all? "My family and friends are a great support, collecting the fabric and helping distribute bags, although my husband now keeps his wardrobe locked as I think he is worried I will turn all his shirts into Morsbags!"