A mishap with a curry prompted television producer Nicholas Sercombe to design a bag that will keep a curry hot and customers cool.

Carry That Curry is now undergoing trials at a Sussex restaurant and will soon be launched on the public.

Nicholas, who lives in Easebourne, near Midhurst, said: "As I drove home with a takeaway curry, I turned a sharp corner but the curry didn't want to and it spilled out of the container.

"How to carry a hot curry home in your car is a problem thousands of people face every day. Coming up with the right solution could be a major breakthrough in take-away food technology.

"The bags are insulated so, after they have been used to carry your curry, they could be used to keep your beer cool on a picnic. They are strong and leakproof.

"You could whirl a full one around your head and, even if the curry spills from its container, it won't spill from the bag."

Every year, there are more than 100 million take-away meals sold in the UK.

Nicholas and his business partner James Rolls are running trials with their Carry That Curry bags at Khan's Brasserie in Midhurst, where proprietor Mujib Khan and his customers have voted it a hit.

The official UK launch date is likely to be in the next few months.