Gardening / Tool Box: A folding wheelbarrow? Get a load of that]

EYES popped when I got off the train, opened a canvas bag, took out a Bickerton folding bicycle, gave the onlookers a cheery wave and started the three-mile ride home. The Corrie Garden Buggy attracted almost as much attention when it appeared from the boot of a Renault 19 convertible.

Few gardeners need to transport a wheelbarrow by car, but many have to make the most of limited stowage space at home. This folding model, with a capacity of 3 cubic ft, reconciles the proverbial quart with a pint pot.

The tubular frame is made of galvanised steel, the wheel of plastic and the 'body' of woven polypropylene. It is light enough to be lifted with one finger and designed to hang from a wall. At pounds 35.72 the Garden Buggy is only slightly more expensive than two of its rigid counterparts in Corrie's range of nine barrows.

Drawbacks? The wheel tended to dig in when a load was pushed along a gravel drive. A slightly wider version would be better. Replacing the tough fabric of the barrow, which is unlikely to last as long as steel, costs pounds 10.48.

J B Corrie, Frenchman's Road, Petersfield, Hampshire GU32 3AP (0730 262552).

(Photograph omitted)