Many lives are likely to be saved if an invention by a Marlborough College student goes on the market.

Eighteen-year-old James Popper from Cricklade has been working on CookerSmart since he arrived at the top public school to start his sixth form studies nearly two years ago.

James said: “It began when an elderly family friend had a fire in her kitchen. She was very lucky to survive and it got me thinking about how to make things safer in the house.

“The fire service say the majority of house fires begin in the kitchen. Standard smoke detectors are set off if you burn the toast and some people even take out the batteries and forget to put them back.”

CookerSmart works by detecting flames with an infrared monitoring system, for which James has applied for a patent. CookerSmart technology is contained in a neat plastic box, 10cms by 10cms, which will affix to the wall or ceiling in the kitchen. It is expected to retail for about £12.

He was encouraged by the college to enter his invention in the regional heat of the Young Engineer of the Year competition.

This led to his winning awards at the Big Bang Fair in Manchester in March, along with Simon Brookes of Balcarres School in Gloucestershire, with his invention designed to prevent the theft of fuel from lorries.

This scooped the two young innovators invitations to the Intel International Science Fair in San Jose, California, where James won the Intel ISEF Best of Category award for electrical and mechanical engineering, an invitation to the prestigious Stockholm International Youth Seminar, first place in the US Government Patent and Trademark Office Society Award, runner-up in the International Society for Optical Engineering Award, and winner of the United Technologies Corporation prize.

James is studying for five A- levels and is hoping to go on to study at Imperial College, London, after which he will concentrate on manufacturing CookerSmart.