ideas21 member Nick Rawcliffe is £50,000 richer after winning the top prize in the Fiat sponsored nationwide Smiles Per Hour Design Competition. Thirty-four year old Nick emerged the winner on Thursday, 25th September 25 night after a gruelling day of pitching his invention - a hybrid BMX that fits on to any existing snowboard – to a panel of judges which included Suzi Perry of Channel 5’s The Gadget Show.

A fan of extreme sports and especially freestyle motocross, he came up with the Snowbone, a hybrid BMX which, as he explained during a demonstration of his prototype, “…can be thrown around like a BMX and the rider can do tricks that never before have been seen on snow…”.

Now the designer, who holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering and an MA in Design from the Royal College of Art, is planning to move his invention forward and will use his winnings to fund the final development of his prototype. He plans to launch the Snowbone in the winter sports market this season. "I’ve also set my sights on my Snowbone featuring in the Winter X Games 2018,” he said.

The aim of Fiat’s Smiles Per Hour Design Competition was to discover Britain’s brightest inventors and the response was very encouraging, said Andrew J Humberstone, Managing Director, Fiat Group Automobiles UK Ltd, who was also one of the five judges at the finals. "We were very impressed with the standard of innovation and creativity of the entries and it was a hard task shortlisting the five entrants who went forward to the final round of our competition,” he said.

As well as Nick, the shortlisted five included Natalie Daghestani with her design, the Hylo Shoes featuring a retractable heel; Simon Tarrant and his Streetrower - a rowing machine for off-water journeying; Steven Spong who designed a Longbow based on a skateboard and Harley Zblewski whose invention, the Suitcase Car, folded up for easy portability. “Choosing the eventual winner was a tough challenge,” said Humberstone. “It was also a full-on and nerve-wracking day for the finalists who had to pitch their inventions to us, knowing there was a huge cheque waiting for the winner.”

Suzi Perry, who presented the winning cheque to Nick Rawcliffe added: "I am very proud to have been involved with Fiat’s Smiles Per Hour Design Competition since the outset and am delighted to have seen such incredible inventions. We have been very impressed with all the presentations and it’s in situations like this that you wish everyone could be a winner!

"Britain is a nation of inventors,” she added. "We have been host to some fabulous and successful innovators throughout the years to present day successes – but there’s always room for more and this Fiat initiative to find Britain’s creative talent has gone a long way in highlighting the wealth of ingenuity which is out there.”

But the last word should go to Nick, who after being announced as the winner told ideas21 "if you stick at it good things happen!".