A WORCESTER couple are hoping their eco-friendly invention will help them win a Dragons' Den-style television show.

Michele and Justin Chieffo have beaten off thousands of other competitors to star in Tycoon, which will be aired on ITV1 this month.

The couple, from Drake Avenue, Dines Green, have invented the Be-Eco carrier bag dispenser - described as "a simple way we can all reduce our carbon footprint on a daily basis".

The idea is to push empty carrier bags into one end of the canvas dispenser, hang it somewhere convenient, then take it shopping with you and reuse the bags.

The couple's trail to the TV show started when they sought advice on how to market the bag. They met business guru Peter Jones, a former judge on BBC programme Dragons' Den, in which would-be entrepreneurs vie to get funding for their ideas Mr Jones immediately encouraged the couple to audition for his new show, Tycoon. The show will see Mr Jones, who runs Phones International, invest his own money in just one product that he believes has the most potential.

The couple are now up against six other entrepreneurs from across the country, including a former glamour model selling clip-in hair extensions and a 17-year-old who wants to create a newspaper for teenagers.

Mrs Chieffo, aged 30, said the family had always been quite green. "We already try to do as much as we can and my son is always coming home from school telling us to recycle."

The couple run a website that sells and promotes British products such as handmade knitware, ethical clothing and accessories, stained glass and hand-made furniture.

"With the Be-Eco bag, we were adamant that it should be produced here. It means it costs a little more but we are very keen to support British producers."

Being on the show means the husband and wife and their two children, Luc, aged five, and Brandon, aged two, are being followed by a film crew.

"We've been filmed for the past two weeks," said Mrs Chieffo. "They film us at home and even when we go shopping."

To help them complete their current challenge of selling 10,000 bags, go to www.finefayre.co.uk. The Be-Eco bag costs £4.50.

PLASTIC BAG FACTS* Twelve billion plastic bags are given to British shoppers every year.

* Plastic can take as long as 400 years to break down in landfill sites.

* A ban on free plastic bags in Ireland cut their use by 95 per cent.

* Plastic bags and other plastic rubbish that finds its way into oceans kills as many as a million sea creatures every year.