A VALE of Evesham engineer who sold his house and cashed in his pension fund to develop his invention will know next Thursday if he has won a Tomorrow's World Innovation Award.

Robert Powell's Powex - which stands for Powell Extinguishes - is designed to deal with small kitchen fires. Users simply press a switch and point it at the flames.

Mr Powell, aged 52, who has been developing the device for seven years, said: "I am delighted to have been shortlisted for this award."

He worked around the world as a fire engineer before embarking on developing the Powex which contains a top-secret liquid he formulated himself and which has now been patented.

He claims the fire suppresser is safer than traditional extinguishers as it does not rely on the build-up of pressure, and he is hoping that most households will have one in the future.

"Most of us have smoke detectors, but only a few have extinguishers as they can be bulky, difficult to use and need servicing," Mr Powell said.

"Our product is easy to use and has been designed in bright kitchen colours, so that it will not look out of place on the wall."

The inventor explained that Powex works by injecting fluid directly on the heat of the fire sealing off the oxygen, then cooling the temperature to prevent re-ignition.

The sales manager of the small family company is Mr Power's daughter Kerrith Parsons who said the invention was launched at the Ideal Homes Exhibition in London last November, where it won a major award.

"Sales are really starting to take off and we hope will increase even more after Tomorrow's World is televised on July 4," she said.