The Sensis sheath is being hailed as a breakthrough for all men who have experienced passion-killing delays at the crucial moment.

Mr Thompson, a former carpenter now attending to an entirely different type of wood, said he got the idea after unsuccessfully trying to put on an ordinary condom after a night on the town.

He said: 'I couldn't see anything so I tried to open the window to take advantage of the street lights, but I couldn't really see anything. Between the alcohol and the fumbling it was one big flop.'

The strap-on Sensis condom comes complete with quickie pull-on straps and has already proved popular in the US. The man from Miami is now launching his strap on sheaths in Europe.

He claimed: 'I've sold two million of these in the US, so I know they work.'

It is possible, however, that the Polish town of Konin may not take to the revolutionary condom quite so readily, after residents there were left outraged by a giant sheath being placed over a fountain in the square.

Although Konin was the hometown of the inventor of the modern condom, Julius Fromm, townsfolk were said to be sick to death of the sight of prophylactics.