A LAINDON man who retired three times has started work again designing and selling turntables to help people park cars.

Bob Torr, 72, of Wash Road West, has just set off on a tour of the UK trying to sell the fruits of his six months labour.

He was inspired to design his turntable after his friends and he found they were struggling to park their cars in limited space outside their homes.

He said: "There were a million-and-one problems I had to solve and it took me about six months to develop.

"I needed it for myself anyway. What I wanted was a turntable that can be picked up and taken away as well."

Before turning his hand to turntable design, Mr Torr worked as a bulder, hotelier and publican before he retiring from each job. He laughed when asked if he would present his invention to the hard-nosed businessmen on TV's Dragon's Den.

However, he will be taking his turntable to the Essex Show in nearby Barleylands and North Weald markets.

There, buyers can examine the steel construction which weighs just over a ton and will retail at about £4,000.

He dismissed the fierce competition he may face from established makers of turntables for vehicles, as theirs are set in the ground, whereas his can be moved to a new site.