A MEON Valley firm is planning to revolutionise motoring with old cooking oil

The owners of Beautifuel are recycling used oil and turning it into bio-diesel for use in normal diesel cars - at a fraction of normal fuel costs.

The remarkable fuel retails at 25p a litre, as opposed to pump prices for diesel of about 85p a litre, and is also more efficient than its counterpart.

Staff at Beautifuel are hoping to convert the former grain store at Upper Hill Farm in Droxford Road, Swanmore, into a reycling facility - if they get the go-ahead from Winchester planners.

John Duckworth, who has been building the firm up from scratch during the past 12 months, is hoping to expand rapidly in the next year.

He said: "It's very good and very green. We believe everyone's a winner. To me it's still a lot like magic. I can't believe it works, but it does.

"It's used oil and we're putting it to a second use. It's environmentally friendly. The restaurants benefit because we collect waste they no longer have any use for, the environment benefits and the customer wins as well."

The small business employs three people and produces around 10 tonnes of fuel a week.

Peanut oil and used vegetable oil are collected from a number of restaurants throughout the area, Portsmouth Football Club and Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham.