AN interior designer from Bury has used lockdown to design and build an innovative and sustainable new travel trailer for the top end of the market.

The handcrafted four-berth aluminium carriage carries inside a Scandi mix of birch plywood and marmoleum and woollen fabrics, carefully chosen to create a luxurious, yet cosy feel to the interior.

To maintain its sustainable credentials, the trailer, known as The Arthropod has full height glass doors at the rear to open up the living space, and remote-controlled hydraulic decking which lowers to provide an outdoor seating sleeping space and kitchen area and toilet to make it a self-contained home on wheels, doubling as a ramp for disabled access.

Interior designer Gary Macpherson said: “I love taking my boys on camping trips and I was looking for an alternative to a tent.

“Camper vans are great but they need a service and an MOT, and once you’ve parked up at a site you can’t just nip to the shops for some groceries or go on a day trip.

“I then looked at caravans and was amazed that there isn’t anything that’s stylish and sustainable on the market.

“I didn’t want to pull along a white plastic box. They’re just not cool.”

For maximum use, the trailer can also become a home office, when parked in the drive, and can transform into a guest suite for friends and family.

Gary and his colleagues, Graham Taylor, Paul Turner and Aurel Mihai usually design and fit out clubs and bars, but turned their talents to creating a style-led trailer you could stay in, and the Arthropod was born.

Gary added: “Caravans haven’t changed in over 50 years, so I wanted to do something about that. I can’t wait to hook it up to the car and take it out for a trial run. I’ve had this idea for three years, but lockdown has given us the time to make it happen. I’m really pleased with what we’ve achieved.”