An Oxfordshire-based innovator has won a government-sponsored award to develop a radical new wheelchair.

The Smart Award grant has been awarded to XMI Engineering Services Ltd of Didcot under a scheme to promote innovation in England.

The design allows users to adjust the wheelchair from a sitting position to an elevation where their eye level is at the same point as a standing person.

It is hoped that the wheelchair will open up a number of possibilities for users - enabling them to talk to others face to face or even possibly to take up jobs previously closed to them.

Stewart Scott, the managing director of the company, said: "The wheelchair has the potential to open up job opportunities for users that previously would be impossible due to the limitations of traditional chairs.

"Over the next twelve months I am aiming to built a working prototype to be evaluated by a number of different people."

Those who would like to be involved in the trials for the wheelchair should contact John Prout on 01235 523353.

The Smart (Small Firms Merit Award for Research and Technology) Awards are government grants to help the development of innovative products.