A 28-YEAR-OLD industrial designer who invented a special plug for those who struggle with everyday tasks has won a £5,000 grant for his life-boosting creation.

Michael Omotosho, who never left the city after a degree in Automotive Design at the University of Bradford, created 'Plugull' - a product with a circular handle to make pulling plugs out of sockets easier for those with arthritis, weak hands, sweaty palms, long nails and other dexterity issues.

"I remembered my Grandma, who suffers from arthritis, mentioning her difficulty in pulling out plugs from wall sockets," Michael said.

"With this I began to see how it would be especially useful for arthritis sufferers and those with loss of dexterity. For these users it would be more than just an item of convenience but one of necessity."

Michael entered Plugull into the national Young Innovators’ Awards and he is now one of 64 young people from across the UK to receive business support.

The awards helps designers from a diverse range of backgrounds transform their ideas into successful businesses.

As well as a £5,000 business grant, the young innovators - all aged 18-30 - will also benefit from one-on-one business coaching and an allowance to cover living costs until 2023.

Michael has since launched Plugull on www.plugull.com and hopes to work and partner up with companies.

It is a dream come true for Michael who completed his first design project at the age of 8.

Michael said: "I have always been curious about the way things work and the mechanisms behind things.

"I remember my first design project at the age of about 8. I had received some brand new headphones from my parents. I really liked them and was so consumed by the look of them that I decided I was going to make a replica.

"So I told a friend I could make him his very own headphones just like mine for a fee. I asked him to get the materials I needed - some wires, a few matchboxes and some PCB boards.

"This was a failed project which resulted in my brand new headphones being completely destroyed and, of course, one very unhappy client.

"This did not deter me from my dreams of creating; rather the opposite. My thinking then was, If someone can do this, so can I. Something about it made me want to create my own product from start to finish."

Michael moved from Walsall in the West Midlands to study in Bradford in 2010. Since graduating, he secured a job as a design engineer.

"I have been fortunate to see how much potential this city has," Michael said.

"I decided to leave the engineering industry as it was too restrictive for me, and there was no creative freedom to do what I enjoy doing (solving problems).

"I decided to set up a design company that focuses on developing products that solve everyday problems and also helping start-up companies bring their ideas to life."