MY name's Alfie Combe and I'm an addict. I have suffered with my addiction for almost four years now.

More and more so I find myself deliberating about how I can feed my dirty little habit without making it obvious to others.

It's got to the stage where it affects my everyday life and almost certainly has a detrimental impact on the town in which I live.

In fact, my addiction has gripped me so firmly that I honestly can't see a way out.

But I'm not taking about drugs, alcohol, gambling or even sex. No, this beast is far more powerful.

I am addicted to Tesco Club Card points.

Ever since I innocently signed up to the scheme all those years ago, it has slowly but surely tightened its stranglehold around my now gaping wallet.

The problem with Tesco's devilishly cunning scheme is the more you spend the more you get back – an obvious concept but one that should not be dismissed.

Every time I visit that friendly looking building at the top of the hill, I find myself challenged to spend more and more in the pursuit of these elusive, precious credits.

If purchasing £5 worth of glucosamine tablets or women's shower gel earns me an extra 25 points, then I'll be the flexible-jointed, lavender-scented fella skipping cheerily down Marlborough Road, carrier bags clutched firmly in each white knuckled fist.

Then there's the hysterical moment at the end of each Club Card quarter when you realise you are just 10 points away from a discount of £7 on future purchases – a veritable Holy Grail for addicts such as myself.

In such situations I will buy anything within a five metre radius just to make up the deficit; be it chocolate bars, gossip magazines, expired sandwiches – I've even stooped as low as to swipe a box of tampons in the hope they might be of some use to my other half (though, as I soon learnt, certain products have to be chosen on slightly more than a panic-stricken whim).

But then, when your discount vouchers finally arrive, you realise you've spent a small fortune just to reach that elusive total.

But deep within me, I know my lust for these intangible tokens is wrong.

There are some who would say "Alfie, stop beating yourself up. Not only are you saving money by shopping at a faceless multinational chain store which can afford to keep prices low, but these Club Card points you speak of appear to sweeten the deal further. Who are you to contend with such great value?"

Well I'll tell you who I am (not literally of course, that would spoil the premise of this delightfully anonymous column – I was talking more in the figurative sense).

I'm a man who cares about the economy of my local town. I care about jobs for my friends (and even my enemies). I'm a man who wants nothing but the best for this whimsical, seaside resort we lovingly call home.

So it is with this pride in my heart and a gin-induced clarity of mind that I make this vow to you, my dedicated disciples of rant.

As we are just in to the New Year, I can think of no better time to set myself a challenge – a resolution if you will.

As of January 2012, I'm going to attempt to do all my grocery shopping in our local High Street shops and avoid, where possible, the glass-façade of temptation that is Tesco.

This is something that pale-faced retail tycoon and televisual oddity Mary Portas has been urging us to do of late, highlighted most recently in her report on Britain's struggling High Streets.

When you stop and think about it, it's not that difficult a task.

Us Ilfracombe folk are extremely fortunate to have a decent selection of food shops which have not yet succumbed to the grim economic nightmare currently drifting around the country like a black cloud of monetary doom.

We have one of the best butchers in the country in Mike Turton, fantastic fresh fruit and vegetables at Norman's and a veritable smorgasbord of health food products at Nana Sue's.

Between those three shops alone I think you'd be hard pressed to want for much more.

If you're after a nice bunch of flowers, Liz Goodenough will sort you out and if you're in the market for some new togs, you can always scout out a few bargains at Dressed 2 Kill.

And if you're one of those people (usually men) who like to peruse the DVDs and electrical products while your better half scoots frantically round the aisles, look no further than our very own Movie Mix and Electric Store – hours of entertainment for shop-a-phobic, tech-heads!

Let's do our town a favour next year and keep it local.