An East Hampshire student may have saved the lives of thousands after winning a national design award with a plastic fantastic invention.

Clanfield innovator Harry Wragg has won £1,000 after winning the Design Innovation in Plastics (DIP) award.

Organisers of the plastics design competition – the longest running one of its kind for university undergraduates in the UK – had a “Health and Wellbeing: a product for the self-care agenda” theme.

Harry made the final six after impressing with his CPR+ Aid device which enables people to apply the correct pressure in the right way when performing CPR.

And the third-year De Montfort University student came first with his simple but brilliant device being hailed as a lifesaver.

“My research had shown a lack of first aid training and a lack of defibrillator availability, so I wanted to find something that would give people the confidence to help save a life,” said the third-year product design student.

“I’ve proved to myself I’m capable of producing a professional design that can change lives and have an impact on society.”

Harry created CPR+ Aid, which gives audible feedback when pressure is applied, after taking to the British Heart Foundation and learning that 43 per cent of the UK’s population is unsure how to perform CPR.

He presented three types of colour-coded devices with its simple but brilliant nature also making it a low-cost solution that could form part of a first aid kit.

Chairman of judges, Richard Brown, said the panel were very impressed with the product’s simplicity, material selection and manufacturing potential.

He added: “We believe it is a product that challenges the current CPR approach and could save lives.”

The competition is supported by the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and sponsored by Covestro, a global supplier of premium polymers.