You're down the pub and the conversation is starting to flow.

But there's a problem. You only intended to have one drink and your car is parked outside. You can't get a taxi home because you need your car in the morning.

Until now the answer was to cut short the bonhomie and go home.

But entrepreneur Tony Murrell has come up with a solution which allows you to stay out for as long as you like without resorting to drink-driving.

He has set up a company called Chauffeur Monkey, a bit like a taxi service but, in this instance, the drivers take you home in your own car.

He has employed a team of fully insured drivers who get around on converted Honda Monkey scooters which fold up and fit in the boot of your car.

Tony admitted it was not a new idea but said there is a gap in the market.

He said: "There's a company called Scooter Man doing the same thing in other parts of the country. But here in Brighton we are providing something closer to a chauffeur service. Our drivers will be dressed in shirt and tie, not jeans and T-shirt. The youngest is 32, the rest are in their 40s or 50s. They will be very courteous - good evening, madam' - that sort of thing, not reckless young lads."

Mr Murrell, 49, has spent most of his life in the courier or haulage business and decided to go into business on his own after moving to Newhaven last year.

The paragliding enthusiast is advertising his service by posting framed flyers in pub toilets in Brighton and Hove which read: "You do the drinking, we'll do the driving."

He has also set up his own website, www.chauffeurmonkey.co.uk.

Mr Murrell also wants to tap into the daytime market, delivering cars for motor dealers, for example, or taking people's cars to and from airports.

He said: "When you start to think of the applications, it is endless. I was in Eastbourne wine tasting recently.

A couple came in to buy a bottle but couldn't remember which one they wanted. Instead of taking their time and trying samples, they decided not to bother because one of them had to drive.

"That was a perfect example of where Chauffeur Monkey could have come in handy."