One of the classic British films of the 1950s was The Man In The White Suit, a fantasy about a scientist who invents a fabric which never becomes dirty and is almost indestructible.

Now fantasy has become reality with the announcement by researchers at Durham University that they have developed a new coating that can be applied to clothes to make them dirt-proof.

Clothes which do not become dirty sounds too good to be true, but they could soon be on sale thanks to the Durham research team.

When water or oil is poured onto fabric that has been treated with the new coating, it just forms spherical droplets that roll off the material, instead of soaking in.

Invisible layer

This means that the clothes are not just resistant to greasy stains, they are also waterproof. But the layer of coating is so thin that it is invisible and does not affect the feel of the material.

A stain on a dress can change history - but maybe not in the future

The coating can also be applied to other surfaces such as paper. Bank notes treated with it would last much longer.

It would also make a useful anti-fouling agent to prevent the build-up of marine organisms on the hulls of ships.

The scientists are very reticent about the composition of the coating and the way it is applied. What they will say is that the application process does not use solvents, produces little waste and is quick and energy efficient.

Objects to be coated are simply put into a chamber filled with gas and an electric current is passed through it.