AN alternative to the traditional BBQ stove has been developed by a business near Tenbury.

It claims to remove the need to buy special fuels and provides a garden fertilizer made from waste wood.

The runs on small sticks, which can be collected while on a walk or around the garden.

It burns these completely cleanly. and so is claimed to be environmentally friendly.

However, what really makes the stove special is its ability to turn wood into solid carbon, instead of carbon dioxide.

Commonly known as ‘biochar’ this carbon can then be used as a soil enhancer to reduce the need for fertilizers.

The company is based near Tenbury and the stoves are being manufactured by ESSE in the UK.