CRIME-FIGHTING INVENTION MAKES STAFFORDSHIRE WOMAN THE FEMALE INVENTOR OF THE YEAR



Deborah Leary, inventor of a product to help police collect evidence at crime scenes, beat off strong competition from other contenders to win the top prize in the British Female Inventors & Innovators Awards 2005 on Thursday 17 February.

In the event at the Painted Hall of the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London, the Tamworth inventor triumphed with her Forensic Anti-Contamination Stepping Plates. Her product allows the police to walk around a crime scene without making contact with the ground. Deborah's clear polycarbonate plastic stepping plates also enable officers to see the crime scene more easily than other alternatives on the market and are lightweight and stackable. She has a registered design for the plates.

Welsh inventor Adrianne Jones was named the Innovator of the Year 2005 for her Biocycle, biodegradable tree shelter and seedling cover, which is used to protect young trees. The product is an alternative to plastic tree shelters, which are more difficult and costly to dispose of.

WINNERS
The eight other inventors in the top 10 were:

Simi Belo of London for Newhair, a new type of wig
Joanne Bradford of Telford for the Holi-Doze inflatable travel cot
Toni Jane Cherrett of Alderney for the Trover dog coat
Cheryl Cullen of Essex for the Kitten-Pole portable dance pole
Celia Gates of Colchester for Handl Cookware
Cintra Jaggan-Vince of London for the Sling Jacket
Liz Paul of Harrogate for Scentuelle, libido stimulation patch
Liz Williams of Denbighshire for Redweb Persona personal safety alarm.

Founder of the awards Bola Olabisi said: "This has been an exceptional year with creative ideas in many different sectors. The awards show that women can solve problems in every environment from domestic to industrial."

FOR THE OTHER CATEGORIES:
Innovative Women in ITEC was won by Akgun Ozkok of Surrey for the Surgical Patient Information System.

Gold award for Support for Product Development went to Wrexham-based
Dr Ann Sudder for the Instant Florist.

Silver award Support for Product Development went to Llanelli's Denise Harris for the Envirocomp Composing System.

Gold award for Exceptional Creative Items was won by Andre Neves and Saba Alden of Surrey for Kayapo jewellery.

Silver award for Exceptional Creative Items was won by Yana Johnson for Yana Cosmetics.

Gold award for Capacity Building Initiatives of Projects was won by Frances Williams of London for Interims for Development, knitting skills project.

Silver award for Capacity Building Initiatives or Projects was won by Lorlett Hudson of London for One Hand Can't Clap, an organisation aiming to make a difference to our environment.

WINNERS
The event, now in its sixth successful year, is organised by the Global Women Inventors & Innovators Network (GWIIN) with support from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), UK Trade & Investment, the University of Greenwich and the Knowledge Dock at the University of East London (UEL).

The awards were presented by Professor Michael Thorne, Vice-Chancellor of the University of East London.

The Knowledge Dock at UEL has been set up to work with industry and help inventors and entrepreneurs develop their ideas into world-beating products.