AN inventor is hoping his brainchild will generate plenty of jobs for his home town – and not just be all hot air.

Kevin Haworth, 52, had pondered how to capture the lost heat from his woodburning stove, while saving the planet and cash.

Now he hopes his newly-devised ‘Recoheat’ airflow recovery system will leave homes glowing and householders smiling.

And with the first two batches of his device primed and ready, the builder-turned-businessman is looking to convert his fledgling business into Padiham’s next success story.

He said: “What I used to hate was all of the lost heat which disappeared up the flue, so I thought about it, made a prototype, and the results were amazing.

“The fire used half as much wood and the house was warmer. Not only that but I began to notice that my domestic gas bill had dropped to £20 a month.”

Initially he took his idea around a number of business investment schemes, before bringing the prototype to one of Burnley MP Gordon Birtwistle’s surgeries.

The Liberal Democrat politician, who has an engineering background, advised that the best way forward was for him to just ‘crack on’ and launch the venture off his own back.

“There is also the savings on emissions and for every 30 I manage to sell, I can create another job in Padiham,” said Kevin, who is based in Pendle Street.

“It just came to me out of the blue but I’m an inquisitive guy, I’m a builder, and used to solving problems.”

Mr Birtwistle said: “The results he has got are quite incredible and it’s very clever from an engineering perspective as well. He made it in his own kitchen and the amount it could save in terms of bills, and the environment, is remarkable.”

The inventor has established a website - www.recoheat.co.uk - as he seeks to expand.