By gum... my new invention has solved a sticky problem

Town halls pay millions every year to clean chewing gum off the pavements. Now, thanks to Anna Bullus, they may no longer have to.

The former design student has invented a material out of discarded gum and used it to make the first recycling bin for the substance.

Miss Bullus, 27, of Queen's Park, said: "It suddenly occurred to me gum is a type of rubber and rubber can be recycled." She spent eight months in the labs at Brighton University, where she studied, creating Bullus Recycled Gum Polymer, then perfected it with the help of London Metropolitan University: "It was a lot like cooking. My friends thought I was disgusting - I gave them little pouches to collect gum in."

Legoland in Windsor has bought 60 "Gumdrops" and they are being tested at stations, councils, colleges and schools.