Making your way from one side of Oxford to the other can be a frustrating task.

Every day, an estimated 25,500 cars and taxis travel through the city centre, along with around 10,000 bicycles and hundreds of buses - not to mention pedestrians and motorcyclists.

But three men have found a new way of beating the traffic - and are having fun and keeping fit at the same time.

Graduate student Alex Prideaux, 25, from Oxford, bought a pair of Powerizers - springy stilts which can allow you to travel up to 10ft in a single stride - in June and has been exploring how to get the most out of them ever since.

Mr Prideaux said: "They were on Tomorrow's World something like eight years ago just as they were designed.

"Then I saw them on eBay in June and it was my birthday so I decided to treat myself.

"I thought it would be something a bit different.

"Other people have skateboards, or roller-blades, so I saw it as being something like that."

He has used the springs to get to where he studies, in South Parks Road, from his home in Great Mead, off Rewley Road, and said the journey took about seven minutes - similar to cycling, but up to three times faster than walking.

He said the Powerizers took some getting used to, putting the wearer around a foot and a half off the ground with just a 4in rubber square in contact with the ground.

He said it took about half an hour before wearers could stand without assistance and had to keep their "feet" moving the whole time to stop from toppling over.

But once they got the momentum going, it almost felt like a natural extension of the leg - although stopping could be more challenging.

He admitted he had fallen over a couple of times, but had never injured himself or collided with anything or anyone.

"Running on them is like sprinting, pretty much, and is quite tiring, but when you're just walking or jogging, the exhaustion factor is negligible."

Stunts, such as somersaults and flips, are also possible and Mr Prideaux said he was hoping to learn how to do back-flips.

Dave Thwaites, 28, of Cutteslowe, had not yet tried out his Powerizers to get to work at the Pegasus Theatre, in Magdalen Road, East Oxford, but said he was hoping to get more practice when the weather improved.

"I think it could work really well," he said.

Mikey Slater, 20, from Didcot, a deputy electrician at the New Theatre in George Street, Oxford, got his Powerizers just two weeks ago and is already using them to get around.

He said: "I haven't had much time to practise because it's been wet outside which makes it a bit more dangerous.

"I think they are a really good idea for jumping the traffic and hopefully they will take off and more people will start using them."

Mr Slater, who can jump over 3ft using them, said he was yet to fall over - then lost his balance just off camera.