ALDBOURNE mother-of-two Kim Niblock has benefited from technology borrowed from the Masai tribespeople of east Africa after damaging her ankle on a child's pogo stick.

Mrs Niblock found that walking around London on the Masai Barefoot Technology, or mBT shoes, designed by Swiss engineer Karl Muller, helped the damaged ankle heal much more quickly.

She said: "I was on crutches for two days and I was due to go up to London the following weekend. I was not looking forward to walking around on a painful ankle.

"But I wore the mBT shoes and to my great surprise I felt so much better by the end of the weekend.

"Because the soles have a curved base, they make you walk in a different way, giving you a rolling gait, and it helps the posture.

"The manufacturers suggest you don't wear them all day to begin with. I had had the shoes for six weeks before I took them to London with me. It was a case of kill or cure but they really helped me."

The shoes are marketed by Aldbourne-based Angie Sanders, who said: "The idea behind mBT is to mimic the rolling walk of the Masai tribespeople.

"Studies have shown that Masai women can walk for miles, often with heavy loads on their heads, without suffering any back pain or exhaustion. They transfer more of their energy into forward movement, whereas Europeans crunch all the weight of their body mass down at each step."

The shoes cannot be bought in shops, as a training session on how to wear them is included in the price.

For details, contact Angie Sanders on (01672) 540176.