PINK lamp posts which also act as charging points could soon start appearing across Oxford thanks to an innovative city councillor.

The posts would act as solar powered electric bike and mobility scooter charging stations and have been invented by Oxford city councillor for Cowley, David Henwood, who created the prototype for his wife.

He explained: "My wife loves the film Mary Poppins, so at Christmas I bought her a Victorian lamp post and while installing it, I considered upgrading the electrical system to run on low watt LEDs.

"It wasn’t long before I adapted the design to run off solar cells and then adapted it further to charge an electric bike.

“Now it comes on at night only when we walk past, and charges my wife’s electric bike.”

Mr Henwood is hoping councils and the government will take up his design and bring the ‘pink lamp post’ to the streets of Oxford and beyond.

He said: "Our lamp posts in Oxford are being converted to low wattage LEDs to reduce running costs.

"I would also like to see existing lamp posts adapted so they can charge e-Bikes and scooters too, and while we are doing that add a motion sensor so that they only turn on after dusk and when someone scoots past.

"This would also help to reduce light pollution in our towns and cities.”

Mr Henwood believes, due to the relatively short charging time – each two-hour charge lasts, on average, 20 miles – the charging points would give electric bikes, and mobility scooter users better access to commercial and shopping districts.

He added charging points for electric cars were slowly being introduced in different parts of the country but dedicated charging points for cyclists and mobility scooters were trailing behind.

Mr Henwood has written to transport authority Oxfordshire County Council to ask them to conduct a feasibility study for charging points around the county.

The councillor is no stranger to coming up with new inventions which he feels could improve life in Oxford.

Last month he unveiled his own specially designed safety feature – called 'pink bobbies' – which he wants to see placed along the roads to separate cyclists from vehicles using the roads alongside them.