A NEW concept in the camping industry has been launched in the UK by a York-born engineer who has returned from Australia.

Andy Rogan set up Go Gecko Camping Trailers on Evans Business Park, in Nether Poppleton, after returning from Australia last year, where he worked as a foreman in an engineering company that made trailers.

He said: “We soon realised that every Australian family we met spent their leisure time outdoors and many had a camping trailer. This allowed them the freedom to just get up and go.

“We loved our Aussie adventure but needed to return to the UK for family reasons. We wanted to bring some of the Australian lifestyle back with us and this is how the Go-Gecko concept was conceived.”

He is now hoping his hard work will pay off, entering The Press Business Awards 2011 categories New Business Of The Year and Think Green Business.

The family business, which employs three people, uses local manufacturers to make the trailers, which are fitted with easy-to-erect high-quality canvas tents. The tents offer home comforts including a king-size bed, electricity, running water and separate sleeping, cooking and living accommodation over 25sq metres.

The tent is packed away neatly, with the main structure already in place so it can be popped up, in a seven by four foot trailer.

And thrifty campers only need to pay for a tent pitch at a campsite. Andy said they were driven by the increase in domestic holidays and camping as families opt for eco-friendly and cost-effective holidays.

He said camping holidays take out the carbon emissions and waste created by hotels and air travel. And Go Gecko’s camping trailers are lighter than campervans and caravans, giving better fuel economy, and the battery for the trailer’s electricity supply can be recharged through solar power.