A former utility chief is hoping to make a splash selling water in paper bottles.

Neil Tomlinson, who was South East Water's marketing director for five years, is hoping to appeal to health conscious consumers who care about the environment.

His company Justdrinkingwater, based at the Sussex Innovation Centre, is the first to sell water in paper cartons instead of the plastic bottles used by major brands.

The South African-born entrepreneur claims this is better for the environment - even if the final product is shipped in from Germany where the water is sourced.

He claims his product Aquapax, which also contains a thin layer of aluminium to keep the water fresh, is 70 per cent renewable and made from responsibly managed forests.

Swedish-based Tetrapax, the company that makes the cartons, is carbon neutral and Neil wants Aquapax to ultimately have a zero carbon footprint.

He said: "I have developed an irrational and pathological hatred of plastic bottles.

"They seemed to wash up on the beach in greater numbers year after year.

"Ice-cream sticks become bits of harmless driftwood but plastic bottles are always there. And plastic is made from oil. It's a damaging material."

During his time at South East Water Neil learnt everything there is to know about water and claims his product is "purer" than most of his competitors.

It is sourced from a 150m well in Germany and has an extremely low nitrogen content which means it is suitable for babies without boiling it first.

Already an airline has expressed interest in stocking the drink for this reason.

Neil, who lives in Bolnore Village, near Haywards Heath, is almost evangelical about water.

The brand name Aquapax means "water peace" - chosen because the water is not exposed to air or light before being consumed and is not at risk of chemical leaching.

He has already signed a distribution deal with Brighton-based Infinity foods and is hoping to wrap up two more deals shortly which will give the product wider reach.

Neil has huge ambitions for the product.

He wants Justdrinkingwater to be known for introducing cartonised drinking water to the world - and Aquapax to be as famous as Coca-Cola.

"Ultimately I just want to have a net positive impact on the world. If the big boys follow and start to package their water in paper and Aquapax, I will still have won."