A liquid cleaner produced by an Oxfordshire woman's company promises to transform the lives of people suffering from asthma and other allergies.

The allergans which can cause symptoms in vulnerable people can be removed from the coats of cats, rabbits and other pets using Petal Cleanse, says the company.

Bio-Life was set up by Mary Lloyd, a former manager for Boots the Chemist, with David Munden, a former pharmaceutical industry executive who spent nine years at the Body Shop.

Ms Lloyd, of Swalcliffe, near Banbury, said: "We have people ringing our helpline, and 82 per cent of them say they would rather suffer than re-home their pet, which is often thought to be the only solution.

"It costs the NHS £480m to treat these allergies with drugs, when people could just clean their pet and get rid of the problem.

"Symptoms range from breathing difficulties, sneezing, wheezing and coughing, to streaming, puffy eyes, skin irritations and eczema."

The solution contains negative ions, which attract the positively charged particles of allergan, which come from the saliva, sweat glands and urine of the pet.

"Most people don't realise that it is not the hairs that cause the allergy," said Ms Lloyd.

The owner brushes the pet to remove dead hair, pours 30ml of the solution on to a cloth or sponge and wipes the pet, then towel dries. Used once a week, it remove the microscopic particles from the coat, preventing them becoming airborne and being breathed in by humans.

She said: "A bonus is that the lotion gives the animal's coat a nice shine."

Petal Cleanse is being marketed worldwide and sales have reached more than £450,000 in six months.

In Britain, there are an estimated 14 million cats and dogs, plus another 37 million small animals.

About 15 per cent of adults and more than half of all children are allergic to pets. The number affected is set to double during the next ten years, because each generation seems to be more allergic than the previous one.

Ms Lloyd said that in UK trials, regular use by people allergic only to pets reduced the number who needed medication from 100 per cent to zero over a four-week period.

Those with multiple allergies needed only 1.8 doses a week, compared to three doses at the start of the trial.