A FORMER pub landlord has turned inventor in a bid to prevent cyclists straining their wrists.

Barry Speakman, of Naylors Terrace, Belmont, watched bike owners as they struggled to pick up their cycles using the frame.

And worried about the strain they would be putting their arms under, he set about coming up with a device that makes lifting bikes easier.

The result was Ezi2lift and, following negotiations with M&G Plastics in Darwen, the gadget has been manufactured and is now on sale. He said: "I'm not a designer or an engineer.

"I had a brainwave and I thought it was worthwhile pursuing," said Barry, a former landlord at the Strawberry Duck at Entwistle.

"I subcontracted out the design, tool-making and manufacture of the product at my own expense so hopefully I will sell enough to get it back!"

The product, which is being sold through the internet, is made from nylon and is placed above the bike's centre of gravity near the chain. EZI DOES IT: Ex-licensee Barry Speakman demonstrates how his invention takes the strain out of lifting a bike