BLACKBURN businessman Gary Davis has hit on a new venture thanks to TV comedy classic Only Fools and Horses - but he says he's no Del Boy.

Gary has started bottling 'Peckam Springs' - pure mineral water pumped from 83 metres below the ground of his farm in Deerplay, near Burnley.

Gary said Only Fools and Horses is his favourite comedy and he gave his water the 'Peckam Springs' name after the episode where Del Boy, played by David Jason, bottled tap water and sells it to an unsuspecting public.

In contrast to the comedy caper, Gary's water is genuine pure mineral water and to top it all Gary is selling it to people in south-east London - including Peckham!

The 44-year-old said: "I love Only Fools and Horses, it's brilliant.

"I was thinking about how I could market the water, as it's a very competitive market. Then I got my inspiration from Only Fools and Horses. The episode where Del Boy bottles tap water is a classic, but I am a genuine businessman and don't sell my water down the market!" Three years ago father-of-three Gary bought the farm and, when looking to use its potential, hit on the idea of bottled water. Gary said that most land has mineral water below it - it's just a case of how far you have to drill for it.

After drilling 83 metres down, his instincts were proved right when an underground water source was discovered.

Gary, who is also managing director of Shadsworth-based Forward Freight Services, then had to get the water certified to EC standards - but because the water quality is classed as excellent it met all the criteria to be bottled as 'natural pure water'.

Gary took advice from an intellectual property solicitor to make sure no one else had a claim on the name.

But because the Patent Office do not allow products to be called after place names Gary was forced to drop the 'h' from Peckham.

He has also benefited from the expertise of the Chamber of Commerce in East Lancashire.

The Chamber of Commerce provides support to businesses throughout East Lancashire with an emphasis on generating new markets and increasing sales.

Stewart Maloney, commercial director of the Chamber of Commerce, said: "With the Peckam Springs project we delivered a market researched study to give Gary and his team detailed information on the bottled water industry.

"That was followed through by introducing him to some of the major supermarket buyers at one of our recent exhibitions."

For more on Gary's 'Peckam Springs' venture see 'East Lancashire Business', the best in business news for Lancashire, free in The Lancashire Evening Telegraph on Monday, March 8.