I’ve been a mechanic for 50 years – always keep £5 gadget in your boot to avoid being stranded on the road

A MECHANIC has urged drivers to always carry a £5 gadget with them to avoid being stranded on the roadside if they get a flat tyre.

The handy device can have you back on the road in minutes and takes no effort to use.

Scotty Kilmer, a motor technician of over 50 years, explained how you can avoid having to shell out hundreds on a recovery truck if you get a flat tyre.

Flats are one of the UK's most common causes of breakdowns and can be caused by anything from punctures to excessive wear and tear.

The RAC reported a whopping 20,000 callouts for that reason alone last year - up around 35,000 on the same time five years ago.

Considering that the spare tyre is all but dead, with the Club estimating that only 3% of new models have one, you can't always rely on a backup.

And even if you do still have a spare in the boot, only a quarter of Brits say they would be comfortable changing a tyre on their own according to a recent study.

Thankfully Scotty has a quick, no-effort solution which doesn't require any mechanical skill.

Speaking on his YouTube channel he explained: "Today I'm going to show you a secret that can keep you out of trouble when you're driving down the road.

"It's the lowly air pump.

"If you get a flat, you really need an air pump so you can pump it back up and get home."

Electric air pumps can be easily purchased online, with some costing as little as £5.

There are still some manual versions available but the majority are now electric.

All you have to do is find the valve on your tyre and attach the end of the pump.

Simply press a button and you can have your rubber reinflated in minutes.

That should give you enough time to move out of harm's way and even get to a garage to get the tyre fixed or replaced.

Best of all, you can just dump it in the boot and forget about it as no maintenance is needed.

Scotty added: "The cylinder and piston are metal, the body is metal.

"They can last a lifetime.

"I'm not going to be stranded because some plastic junk broke."

It comes after motorists were warned of a spooky driving rule they most follow this month or risk a £5,000 fine.