A BRADFORD entrepreneur is hoping to catch the eye of one of the world's most successful businessmen - with a car themed board game.

Martin Waterston, of Tong Village, first came up with the idea for his game 14 years ago, and is now ready to take it to the masses.

Following his success in a competition judged by Dragon's Den star Theo Paphitis, Mr Waterston has entered the Virgin Media Business Voom 2016 competition.

The people behind the top 40 ideas voted for by the public will be given the chance to pitch their idea to Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson, with the top prize being a share of a £1 million prize fund and exclusive mentoring.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Self-confessed petrolhead Martin Waterston is hoping to realise a lifelong dream of releasing his very own board game, by entering a competition run by Richard Branson

Martin Waterston​

Mr Waterston, 51, said his game 'Car Trouble' was a mixture between Monopoly and Top Trumps.

He said: "I was watching a programme about the best games of all time and it had Monopoly on there, and I thought to myself, when I was a child I always loved it and Top Trumps, so I thought I would combine the two.

"I cannot put it into production as I need the permission of the car companies like Ferrari to use their cars on the game, but they only give their brand to established people, so if I can win this competition and have the clout of Richard Branson behind me, that could make all the difference."

The aim of the game is to collect as many trophies as possible, by winning drag races on the board, by collecting the best cars on the board to win the races and pick up the most trophies and best cars, but racers also have to avoid picking up too many parking tickets.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: The fast-paced Car Trouble game involves collecting cars and drag races, and creator Martin Waterston describes it as a mix of Monopoly and Top Trumps

The games is over when someone reaches the target number of trophies, or when all other players are out from getting too many tickets.

Mr Waterston, who is a father of three, said that if he gets into the top 40, he thinks his board game will be of particular interest to Sir Richard.

"I remembered hearing in an interview that one of Richard's biggest regrets is not investing in Trivial Pursuit, so I'm hopeful he will like the game and invest in it."

Public voting in the Voom competition closes on May 23, and Mr Waterston is hoping that the people of Bradford will give him their support to try and realise his dream.

"I've got to stay in the top 40, I'm in about 26th place at the moment, but I have exhausted just about every contact I have, so I'm hoping that the wider public of Bradford will get behind me.

"I'm hoping people will think it's a great idea and take 30 seconds of their time to put a vote in for me."

Mr Waterston, who owns a car repairs company, has always loved cars, saying: "I've had about four Ferraris, and I've got an Aston Martin Vanquish at the moment so I guess I am a bit of a petrolhead!"

To vote for Mr Waterston, visit www.vmbvoom.com/pitches/car-trouble-board-game before voting closes on Monday, May 23.