Walberton inventor could be a winner

Jonathan Waights is one of just ten finalists from 1,000 entries in the Innovation Nation competition.

The winner is being decided by the public at the Ideal Home Show in London.

Jonathan is hoping his invention of a multi-purpose tiling tool catches people's attention in the contest launched by television scientist and invention enthusiast Adam Hart-Davis to celebrate a century of the show.

Jonathan (43), of The Street, stumbled across the idea for his tool after the clients of his hand-painted tile company asked him to put up the tiles he had painted for them.

"I found myself having to use all sorts of other tools, like chisels and screwdrivers, to rake out old grout, pull out spaces and reposition tiles on the wet adhesive," he explained.

"It seemed ridiculous that someone hadn't created a tool that could do all these things better and more easily.

"So, I tried out a few ideas and came up with the multi-purpose tiling tool.

"It is also brilliant for a whole host of other jobs around the home such as undoing tight knots in bits of string."

Regardless of his success in the contest, Jonathan is hoping to find a manufacturer and distributor for the tool. He has received positive feedback from several professional tilers.

He has run Art on Tiles for more than 20 years.

Votes for his tool can be cast online here