Marks & Spencerhas become the first supermarket to offer reusable shopping bags with anti-bacterial technology that could prevent bugs from contaminating food.

The new bags are designed to reduce the risk of food poisoning by stopping the spread of dangerous bacteria, such as E. coli and campylobacter which are both found on raw shop-bought chickens.

Experts welcomed the move as a "positive step" in tackling the growing problem of dangerous bacteria lurking in shopping bags.

A combination of recent outbreaks of bacteria on batches of fresh food and more people using bags for life have meant people are at a heightened risk, researchers have said previously.