A Thai mechanic turns old tyres into model motorbikes and sculptures.

Somphot Phaopeng, 53, collects discarded car parts to make realistic rubber motorcycles in Yasothon province, Thailand.

Footage shows the two-wheelers made from trash. He piles the tyres together to make the frame, cuts one of them to complete the shape, and paints them by hand for more details.

The enthusiast also turns the tyres into swings for children in his backyard and large plant boxes available in different colours.

He said: 'I also made chopper models which received many orders. I generate revenue from these materials that people often consider useless.'

He sells choppers that almost always become out of stock for 3,500 baht (83.83 GBP) each.

He said: 'The strips I collect from cutting the tyres are also used for something else. I sell some to factories for recycling, and I put those that I can still use into garden furniture.'

Somphot said he can turn the tyres into chairs and coffee tables and paint them in pastel colours.

He added: 'I have been making and selling my items for five years. I used to work as a delivery man for a private shipping company, but I lost work during the pandemic.

'My wife wanted a pot to plant vegetables so I learned to DIY. The pot I made for her was the first tyre planter I made.

'I had so many tyres lying around, so I made more until someone asked to buy one of them when he saw them at my house.'

To keep up with demand, Somphot now buys old tyres from a nearby repair shop from his home for 80 baht (1.92 GBP) each.

He said: 'I saw a chopper parade pass by my house and thought I could make them using the tyres.'

Now, Somphot continues to make them at home, and enthusiasts come to him to buy them.

He added: 'I had no prior knowledge of making art, so I experimented until I was successful in creating one.'

(1 THB=0.02 GBP)