AN East Lancashire company is leading the field in the production of energy bars designed not just for athletes, but for anyone needing a boost without having chance to enjoy a meal.

Busy lifestyles make it difficult for many of us to sit at the breakfast table and tuck into a well-balanced meal -- so we have to make do with a snatched snack at our desk or on the train.

Now Science In Sport Ltd, of the Ashwood Laboratories, Brockhall village, has added another chewy energy bar to its list of products to keep us fuelled with goodness and away from greasy burger vans.

The banana bar is more than 98 per cent fat free and has no added sugar. It contains fair trade bananas and lots of vitamins and minerals, and takes the number of Go-Bar varieties to four -- there's also apple and blackcurrant, chocolate and orange and the exotic mango and papaya.

Tim and Simon Lawson, the brothers who own the company, are competitive cyclists who have degrees in sports science and became involved with research and production of sports nutrition products after fellow athletes called for better products for their own use.

The original product was launched in 1996 and testers included top cyclist Chris Boardman who tactfully put the brothers right if the taste didn't come up to scratch. Tim and Simon's mother, Jean, said it had been a "considerable challenge" to produce a food bar which was low in fat but tasty at the same time.