A company behind a revolutionary form of removable chewing gum has been handed £10 million in funding as it puts the finishing touches to its non-sticky invention.

Revolymer has been handed the boost by external investors as it prepares to bring the gum to market, which it claims could save Britain millions of pounds a year spent on removing discarded gum.

Revolymer hopes the new product will go on sale to the public under its own brand next year after preliminary results showed the gum successfully degraded naturally in water and disappeared from pavements within 24 hours.