Robo-trousers that help people stand up, walk upstairs and get out and about are being designed by British scientists in a government-funded scheme to help the elderly and disabled stay mobile.

The University of Bristol is developing "smart trousers" with artificial muscles which give frail people bionic strength so they can live independently for longer.

The project has been dubbed "The Right Trousers" in reference to The Wrong Trousers, the Wallace and Gromit animation in which Wallace constructs a pair of calamitous cyber slacks.

Although the researchers did admit there was a slim chance of "trouser hijacking", as happened in the Nick Park adventure, they said it was more likely they would simply help people get out of the armchair to make a cup of tea. In Britain there are 10 million people living with disabilities and 1.2 million people coping with the after effects of a stroke. The numbers are predicted to rise with an ageing population.

Professor Jonathan Rossiter, of the Bristol Robotics Laboratory at Bristol University, told The British Science Festival: "As we get older and live longer we really want to maintain our mobility for as long as possible.