BUYING a second-hand car can be a fraught affair, but one man is hoping to revolutionise the industry with the help of bungee jumping and bouncy castles.

After enduring the trials and tribulations of trying to buy and sell cars, entrepreneur Trevor Lightburn, from Durham, is launching what he believes is the country's first car fair, where people pay £20 to take their car, motorbike or caravan to a pitch and can then stay until it is sold or swap it with another seller.

Mr Lightburn, who runs an employment agency in Newcastle, said: "I've sold lots of cars and it's a pain. You have to dart round to someone's house at the end of the day to discover it's been sold, or sit around all day waiting for the phone to ring if you have put an advert in the paper. But this is people power, I'm saying to the public 'this is your event, everything has been taken care of'."

The pilot Autofair will take place at the Riverside Park, in Chester-le-Street, on Sunday, May 26. There will also be plenty to keep children occupied, including carousel rides and face-painting.

It is another hard learned lesson for the father-of-two, who has often dragged his young daughters around car showrooms.

He once suffered embarrassment when one daughter, then aged two, asked to sit inside one of the more expensive models, where she promptly relieved her- self.

Mr Lightburn, who runs an employment agency in Newcastle, said: "I definitely wanted fun instead of drudgery and we will have things such as bungee jumping and laser clay pigeon shooting. Eventually we hope to get a giant PlayStation game on screen. It's for the whole family."

The system of buying and selling cars at the fair means that once the seller has accepted a deposit on a vehicle, he or she cannot accept offers from other people.

The AA and other car experts will be on hand to check the vehicles on request.

After the pilot scheme, Mr Lightburn hopes to expand his Autofairs to bigger venues around the country and even take the concept abroad.

The event runs from 11am to 5pm and sellers need to arrive between 8am and 9.30am. Pitches can be paid for on the day, or pre-booked by ringing 0191-2610 469.