Imagine travelling to a restaurant and then being able to fold up your vehicle before handing it into the cloakroom.

Now thanks to the inventive powers of a Colchester duo, that dream has become reality.

Father and son team Vincent and Vaughan Fallon - who work out of the Peartree Business Centre - have conjured up an ingenious contraption called Skoot.

The bike - which will be featured on tonight's Tomorrow's World programme on BBC 1 - promises to solve the problems of wading through gridlocked traffic.

Vincent Fallon, managing director of Skoot International, said: "We are actually designers, and between us and some engineering colleagues, we looked at the problem of congested cities.

"What do you do with your bike once you arrive at your destination?"

Mr Fallon said unlike normal folding bikes which have lots of cables and bolts jutting out, Skoot folds up into a self-contained case barely larger than a conventional briefcase.

The wonder bike measures 56cm by 79cm by 13cm and can be carried inconspicuously into the office and placed under the desk.

With interested buyers queueing up across Europe, the first batch is about to go on sale.

Colchester MP Bob Russell, who is also vice-chairman of the parliamentary all-party cycle group, said he was very impressed with the packaway cycle and hoped it would become a popular means of transport.

He said: "This has all the makings of another Colchester success story. I wish all at Skoot International all the best with their venture."

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.