Drivers could soon be filling their tanks up with old chip fat after the launch of a groundbreaking wonder fuel in Colchester.

Jason Cattrell - his firm should be producing 1,000 litres of biofuel by Christmas. Picture: NIGEL BROWN

A former theatre boss is setting up a factory to turn used cooking oil into eco-friendly fuel for cars.

By Christmas, the company should be producing 1,000 litres of biofuel a week. That could rise to 5,000 litres by March.

Playwright Jason Cattrell, 42, got the idea while penning a comedy about green fuels.

Diesel engines can run on the fuel without being converted. Mr Cattrell reckons it will be 10p a litre cheaper than petrol station forecourts.

The company - JC Fuels - was formed by Mr Cattrell and partner Deborah Allardyce.

Production at the Fordham factory should start in October, making it one of the biggest biofuel suppliers in the UK.

Published Thursday August 12, 2004

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