TESCO in Swindon has joined a national recycling drive.

Like another 700 supermarkets across the country, the Ocotal Way branch has an in-store drop off point for unwanted mobile phones.

In return Tesco will pay £5 for each to one of three charities the Alzheimer's Society, the Cystic Fibrosis Trust or the Children's Charity NCH.

If the customer wishes Tesco will pay £2.50 towards the charity and put 250 points on the customer's Tesco clubcard. A maximum of five phones per customer will be allowed.

Customer service manager John Turner said: "I think it's a fantastic scheme and the customers seem to like it too. It has been running for two weeks and there has been a lot of interest already."

Nationally Tesco hope to recycle up to a quarter of the four million phones discarded every year.

At the moment fewer than five per cent are recycled, which means valuable metals,such as gold and palladium, are lost and substances such as lead, lithium and mercury, which are potentially dangerous, may enter the environment.

If you would like to recycle a mobile phone take it to the customer service desk.