Pocket money project nets youngster thousands

Megan Ward shows off her key ring invention Photo: Paula Ward

Megan Ward shows off her key ring invention Photo: Paula Ward

A Croydon ten year old with dyslexia has turned a £34 pocket money invention into a £12,000 business venture.

Megan Ward’s key ring invention of a pair of three dimensional lungs blackened by cigarette tar has been snapped up by anti-smoking consultancy Gasp. The company subsequently ordered 25,000 of them.

The youngster said: “I am really excited that lots of people will see them and I hope it puts them off smoking for life. It smells nasty and it’s bad for you. I would be so happy if just one person saw my invention and it stopped them smoking.”

Gasp director Cecilia Farren described Megan’s creation as an “extraordinary idea,” adding, “I think she’s brilliant.”

Megan was nine when she learned about smoking in school and decided to invent something that would help people quit.

She said: “I bought a plastic bag from the shops and some brown squidgy paint, and made it look like a lung, and the brown paint looked like the tar and you could squeeze it around.”

She then sent her design to a professional model-making company in China, which cost her £34. Her enterprise has now netted her thousands of pounds following Gasp’s order.

Megan’s mother Paula said: “School isn’t always easy for Megan because she’s dyslexic and struggles with reading and writing. But she’s so creative and full of ideas. I think it’s amazing that she can think in this way.”

The young inventor adds her product to a number of other patented creations and eventually hopes to design a machine to allow people to fly.

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