A businesswoman is selling Manx air in cans.

Cindy Luyt from Douglas, who runs a bed and breakfast in the capital, was prompted to set up Isle of Man Atmospheric Air after her guests commented on how clean the island’s air is.

’They said: "If you could bottle up air here you could make a fortune!". ’It was going round my head and so I thought: "why not?",’ she told the Manx Independent.

’There’s a bit of sense of humour in it. Everything’s too serious these days.

’I started last year and go to different spots around the island, seal the tins and then send them off. They make nice souvenirs, but I also give them as gifts.’

She has since set up a Facebook page and the interest in the product has ’picked up’, she said.

It is selling for £4.55 per can, which covers the costs of postage, driving around to collect the air and the artist’s work on the cover design, which depicts Manx scenes and icons such as the Laxey Wheel and the TT.

’It’s doing really well. They go all the way to New Zealand, Australia, as well as the UK and Ireland. I’ve probably sold about 85 cans,’ she said.

On the can, it reads: ’Fresh air from the Isle of Man relieves stress, cures unhappiness and brings back memories.

’With an extensive coastline, stunning natural landscapes and unspoilt beaches, the Isle of Man is a perfect holiday destination that’s within easy reach of the rest of the British Isles. Visit the island and you’ll find a place full of colour, contrasts and character and beautiful fresh air.’

The quality of Manx air is celebrated in the Manx national anthem, which promises that we are ’as free as thy sweet mountain air’.

Selling air is nothing new. In 2016, the UK Independent reported that Leo De Watts, aged 27, from Dorset, sold British countryside air for £80 a jar to customers in China.

The Guardian also followed the story of two Canadian friends who jokingly posted a zip locked bag of air on eBay that later sold for the equivalent of 60p.

Moses Lam and Troy Paquette repeated their joke again with the next bag selling for $168 Canadian dollars (£99) on eBay. This led to them setting up a company called Vitality Air in 2015.

Originally from Zambia in Africa, Cindy has lived in the island for 14 years after visiting for a weekend from Dublin - where she previously worked - and decided she liked it enough to stay.

’I don’t think anybody realises how good the air is here until they listen to what visitors say,’ she continued.

She believes more can be done to promote the island and that her product does this.

’It’s a novelty,’ she said. ’If someone wants to buy them wholesale for their shop, that would be great.’