A crime fighting invention has won first prize in the 2005 British Female Inventors and Innovators Awards.
The event, now in its sixth year, provides a platform for budding entrepreneurs to bring their inventions into public view in order to attract potential investors.
Deborah Leary scooped the coveted title of Inventor of the Year with her Forensic Anti-Contamination Stepping Plates that allow police officers to manoeuvre crime scenes more carefully without disrupting any evidence.
Made of lightweight polycarbon, the plates can be taken off and used as evidence, minimizing the chance of crime scene disruption.
Talking to startups Leary said: “I didn’t expect to win at all. The reason is that I’m in such a specialised market so I didn’t think it would come through so well.”
The company now distributes the product to police forces in Australia, the U.S, South Africa and France.
Other winners included Adrianne Jones, named Innovator of the Year for the Biocycle, a biodegradable tree shelter and seedling cover.
The awards, held in Greenwich, were organised by the Global Women Inventors and Innovators Network with support from the Department of Trade and Industry, UK Trade and Investment, the University of Greenwich and the University of East London.
Founder of the event, 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.”
Other successful candidates included Akgun Ozkok, who won Innovative Women in ITC with her Surgical Patient Information System and Ann Sudder, who won the gold award for Support for Product Development with the company Instant Florist.
