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Sick of men spreading their legs and infringing on her personal space , Brighton university student Laila Laurel has come up with an ingenious solution.

The 23 year old has designed a chair that stops men from taking up more than their fair share of room by manspreading , and won a national award for it.

Laurel's chair features two pieces of wood that force the user to sit with their legs together, effectively preventing men from widening their legs and encroaching on the space of others.

Manspreading is the "practice of a man sitting on public transport with his legs wide apart, taking up more space than he needs and preventing other people from sitting down".

(Image: lailapoppylaurel/Instagram) (Image: lailapoppylaurel/Instagram)

The term was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2015. but manspreading has been recognised as an issue online since 2013.

Later this month, Laurel will graduate in 3D Design and Craft, and her efforts to eradicate manspreading have been recognised with the Belmond Award, a commendation for imaginative ideas from emerging talent in design.

(Image: PA)

As part of her project, Laurel has also designed a chair with a block of wood in the middle that ensures that women sit with their legs apart, in order to explore ideas around the space that men and women feel comfortable taking up.

Laurel said: "It came from my own experiences of men infringing on my space in public.

"With my chair set I hoped to draw awareness to the act of sitting for men and women and inspire discussion around this."