AN inventor from Colwall has reached the final of a national competition with his latest innovation.

Mark Singleton is one of just ten finalists for the Inventor Prize, which was launched last year to harness Britain’s inventive spirit and answer some of society’s biggest issues.

Spacelink is a green building material that can be mass-produced. It is a new way of joining fibreglass box and tube without metal or adhesive to build lightweight structures. It is 40 per cent of the weight of steel that supports the same load and reduces CO2 emissions by 80 per cent.

Mr Singleton said: "With my architectural training, I’m interested in new and better ways of building. From lightweight bridges, to temporary structures, railway infrastructure, off-shore and marine applications and a lot else, it opens new doors. That’s quite exciting.”

As a finalist, Mr Singleton will get £5,000 to develop his idea, plus mentoring from Barclays Eagle Labs, which is providing access to facilities and equipment, and individual coaching.

The overall winner, to be announced in September 2018, will receive a £50,000 prize to help get their product to market.

The competition is being run by innovation foundation Nesta, backed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.