The Exeter Express and Echo beat off competition from around the globe to win the prestigious World Association of Newspapers' Young Readers Award for its Green Shoppers campaign, designed to cut the use of plastic shopping bags.

The prize is awarded each year to newspapers that have devised, in the judges' opinions, the best project or activity in one or more of the main areas of young readership development.

Echo editor Marc Astley, who will receive the award at a glittering ceremony in Amsterdam, said: "It's a bit like Exeter City winning a World Cup game."

Already this year, the Green Shoppers campaign has seen the Echo pick up gold in the Campaigning Newspaper of the Year category at the Newspaper Society Awards.

It also walked off with first prize for the Community Campaign of the Year in the EDF Energy South West Media Awards and has been short-listed in the niche publication category of the Newspaper Society's digital media awards.

Said Marc: "We are thrilled with this latest award for the Green Shoppers campaign. For a newspaper the size of ours, to receive such an accolade is akin to Exeter City winning a World Cup game.

"We, and our partners Exeter City Council and EDF Energy, always wanted as many people as possible to become involved with the campaign and schools across Exeter joined in with a great deal of enthusiasm.

"We received hundreds of entries of possible designs for the Christmas green bag and for the school book bag.

"When we visited the schools to talk to the children, they knew all about our push to cut the number of plastic carrier bags in the city."

The World Association of Newspapers award is the latest step in what has been a highly successful year for the Green Shoppers campaign.

It was launched in June last year and aimed to cut the use of plastic bags in Exeter by 25 per cent.

The Northcliffe-owned Express and Echo achieved the target by handing out thousands of reusable jute bags to city shoppers.

It also involved Exeter schoolchildren in the campaign by encouraging them to design a logo for a special Christmas edition of the bag and also a children's book bag for schools.