A HAMPSHIRE inventor is the first person in Britain with no need for keys in his life thanks to a microchip in his left hand which allows him to open his front door, access his office and even start his car.

Steven Northam, 33, had the chip – the size of a grain of rice – implanted between his thumb and finger to make his life easier.

But his wife has refused to join in and still fumbles around for her keys.

The remarkable technology offers a glimpse of the future and Mr Northam is now rolling the service out nationwide for businesses and individuals.

He has teamed up with Dr Geoff Watson, a consultant anaesthetist at the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester, to ensure the implant procedure is carried out to a medical standard.

Mr Northam’s new company BioTeq is the first in the UK to offer human implantable technology via professional medical procedures.

He said the technology is similar to a microchip implanted for cats and dogs, and the implant procedure takes just 30 seconds.

The father-of-one now has technology fitted to both his home and his BMW, which starts when his hand is on the wheel.

Meanwhile his primary school teacher wife Becci, 30, must use a fob to get into their home as she is scared of needles.

He said: “She’s not interested in it, so she has a normal key fob to get in the house.

“She thinks it’s a bit freaky, and she thinks I’m a bit mad.”

The couple have a ten-month-old daughter called Poppy and he added: “I would potentially let Poppy have it done down the line if she wants it done.”

Mr Northam, from Otterbourne, said that while it has fun gimmicks, the chip is also a major breakthrough for the medical world.

He said: “I was the guinea pig and the driver behind it. I teamed up with a friend who’s a doctor and he implanted it.”

The chip and the implant procedure sets people back between £230 and £260 per person, while complete offices where employees can access doors or use equipment will cost upwards of £5,000.

The implants work using both radio-frequency identification and near-field communication technologies, much like those used on smartphones.

Mr Northam, also a part time Winchester University business management lecturer, said sceptics fear they could be used by governments to track people, or have people fearing for their security.

He said: “There’s two demographics of people. There are those who think it’s brilliant, and those who think it’s the government taking control.

“That tends to be older people. But I remember parents worrying about chip and pin and CCTV cameras. Give it ten or 20 years and this will also be commonplace.

“If someone wants to break into my house, they don’t need my hand – they should just break a window. And if they want to steal a car they are not going to chop your arm off.”