A stroll to the local is good for your health, wallet and the planet

Who would have thought a short walk to the local shop could earn you a small fortune? That's exactly what's being revealed in a new report into British shopping habits. Over 20 million people across the nation are strolling to their local store every single day. This adds up to an 11 percent saving on fuel costs or £800 million a year across the country. Apparently a stroll to your local store is good for your pocket, good for the planet and good for you.

How you ask? Well the humble British shopper can not only save themselves a fortune in cash but can also help one of the nation's biggest institutions, the local corner shop.

The study carried out by the My Shop is Your Shop campaign also reveals the environmental and health benefits of keeping the car in the drive and shopping closer to home. Our pavement pounding adds up to 4 billion miles and we're helping to reduce carbon emissions by nearly a million tonnes. That's more than the weight of San Franciso's Golden Gate Bridge.

According to founding member of MSYS, Alan Twigg, "With petrol prices soaring, people are increasingly starting to shun their cars and walk to the shops instead. The benefits to this are threefold - it's good for people's health and wealth; great for the planet and also excellent news for Independent shopkeepers..."

So next time you fancy a wander down to the shops think about how you're helping yourself, saving money and saving the planet...