IT used to take Southampton pub manager Kevin Jukes two hours a day to water his impressive collection of hanging baskets.

But now he sits back and relaxes thanks to an ingenious contraption fitted in his beer garden that recycles rain water collected from the roof to irrigate his flowers in a matter of minutes.

The water saving initiative also uses a recycled 100-year-old whisky cask to store the rainwater and an electric pump to work the micro irrigation system.

Water is then pumped against gravity to reach all 18 hanging flower baskets at the pub in Commercial Street in Bitterne.

The Humble Plumb is one of three watering holes across Southampton and the New Forest to be fitted with the green water saving device from their parent company Wadworth.

Mr Jukes, 46, who has worked at the pub for nearly three years, said: "It waters our 18 hanging baskets and it is totally eco-friendly other than a little bit of electricity for the pump. I used to spend about two hours a day hand watering all the baskets and now I just press a button and I can set it from one minute to 30 minutes so it saves me a lot of time. We save water from the guttering which comes down through the pipes and inside the barrel we have a pump that works the same way as a toilet does. If the water is too low than the pump won't run. But while it's running the barrel will hold 108 gallons, which will last me a good week to ten days watering all the baskets. So the more it rains the less we have to fill it up."

The former Southampton in Bloom winners are now hoping the device will help them win next summer's floral competition.

Paul Sullivan, marketing manager at Wadworth, said: "This unique initiative enables our pubs to make a small, but worthwhile contribution to environmental sustainability, saving water and nurturing their plant life whilst also reusing casks which might have ended up in the brewery warehouse."