Dyson has launched its all-in-one Airblade Tap hand dryer which washes and dries hands at the sink.

The new technology apparently works in just 12 seconds but is expensive at £1,000.

The Airblade Tap uses infrared sensors to pinpoint hand positions and release water from the tap stem.

Once hands are wet and drying is requested, integrated circuitry computes the information and activates the digital motor, creating two high velocity sheets of air on the tap’s branches.

Unheated clean air is released to scrape water off hands leaving them dry.

A Dyson spokesperson said: "Conventional hand-dryers use one column of bacteria filled bathroom air to evaporate water from hands, after much hand rubbing.

"Most people simply give up. Dyson Airblade hand dryers dry hands quickly and effectively."

Dyson launched its existing Airblade range in 2006 and is said to have installed dryers in more than 250,000 locations worldwide.