A KENT inventor has scooped a top national award for a cooking and heating device designed to ease Third World suffering.

Rochester-based Alex Bushell was awarded a bronze medal for his 'Allcook' systems at the British Inventions Show "Grand Final" in London.

He developed his idea with the support of Business Link Kent (BLK), the impartial business advice agency.

'Allcook' is a lightweight, self-contained, portable cooking and heating system that can be powered by a wide range of fuels and its design allows it to cater for the cooking styles of many cultures.

Once cooking has finished, the device is easily converted into a space heater and light source.

Alex was spurred into designing the device following reports highlighting the dangers of smoke from cooking stoves in the world's poorest countries.

He said: "Smoke in the home from cooking on wood, dung and crop waste kills around 1.8 million people a year, including nearly one million children.

"With well over 250 million families around the globe using wood or dung, this smoke is also damaging the environment, so I wanted to design a sustainable system which would help people and the environment at the same time.

"The device is inexpensive to manufacture and can easily be made in the country where aid is required.

“One of the best and most cost effective fuels is industrial alcohol which again is easily and cheaply made on location, although it will also burn many other fuels. Its minimal emissions will have a positive effect on the environment, too."

Alex began his design whilst on holiday in Kenya, sketching during the long, dark evenings.

He contacted BLK for advice on launching the product on the market as soon as he returned to the county.

Keith Casson, innovations and technology adviser at BLK, said: "This is a very clever design and we have been helping identify markets and advise on intellectual property rights.

“It will be of interest to the aid agencies because its compact size will enable them to drop a pack containing the cooker, fuel and food so it is fully prepared for recipients to use straight away.”