IT claims to be the New Forest's first and only green' cab firm.

Our Friends in the South Taxis is an innovative new company which runs London-style cabs on fuel produced from waste cooking oil.

The oil is collected from a number of local hotels, pubs and restaurants and then processed into European standard bio-diesel.

The taxi firm - whose motto is "from fryer to tyre"- is the brainchild of mum-of-three Maxine Round who lives in Calshot.

"We've struck oil right here in the New Forest!" she told the Daily Echo.

"We can power our vehicles with a resource on our doorstep - no reliance on foreign oil, no wars required, less pollution and conservation of the world's precious fossil oil reserves."

The company, which has been operating since April last year, is committed to developing a sustainable form of transport in the New Forest National Park.

Maxine runs the firm with help from her husband Ian, who also works as a teacher.

They run their family car, a Volkswagen Passat, on cooking oil as well as their two taxis.

"We never visit a petrol station, unless we want a sandwich!" said Ian.

Their suppliers would have previously had to pay to have their waste oil removed or dumped it in a skip.

Our Friends in the South, which collects both large and small amounts of oil, pays 5p per litre and is always on the lookout for new supplies.

Establishments which already provide them with oil include The Walhampton Arms near Lymington, The Forest Inn in Ashurst, Egans in Lymington and The Croft in Hythe.

"We are not depleting finite sources of fossil fuel, we are not reliant on a fuel from often politically unstable regions, our vehicle emissions are cleaner than with fossil diesel and the carbon footprint is less," added Maxine.

Their levels of emissions are far below those of rival fossil operators which helps to create a cleaner environment in the towns and villages of the Forest.

As a result of their reduced overheads, the company also says it can pass savings on to customers.

As an added green bonus, the taxis are washed by hand using nothing but rainwater and a special set of cloths.

For more information on Our Friends in the South Taxis call 07799 368789.