THE search is on to find and help hidden inventors.

Put up by innovation foundation Nesta and supported by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), The Inventor Prize is a chance for UK’s budding inventors to receive professional mentoring and financial support to make their ideas a reality.

One inventor will be chosen to receive £50,000 and ten more will each receive £5,000 and personal mentoring to develop their invention.

Britain’s makers, innovators and entrepreneurs are a huge asset to the economy adding £18 billion to the UK economy and supporting 298,000 jobs. The number of patents filed in the UK nearly doubled from 2161 patents in 2015 to 4122 patents in 2016.

The UK has also witnessed an explosion of over 100 makerspaces, fablabs, hackerspaces and community workshops across the country in the last decade.

On the judging panel is David Wardell from Southampton, publisher of inventricity.com an online resource for all those interested in invention who has in the past been a director of the Institute of Patentees and Inventors, a trustee of Nesta, publisher and editor of Inventors World magazine and presenter for the BBC’s Tomorrow’s World.

David said: “The great thing about invention is that its suitable for everyone. It’s nothing more complicated spotting a problem and then finding a new way to solve it.”

He advised anyone with a good idea to see patent as soon as possible.

“It’s also important not to make any public disclosure before filing for a patent and that means not telling your mates down the pub about your idea.”

He said most of the successful inventions he had seen remained hidden from the public as they were for component or part.

Business secretary Greg Clark said: “New inventions can change the world, so I encourage everyone who thinks they have a great idea to apply.”

Entries for the Inventor Prize must be for the development of a new product that addresses a societal problem affecting a number of people in the UK.

The idea/product can’t have been on sale before. While the product doesn’t have to be finished, the judging panel needs to be able to see a working prototype in action.

The closing date for entries is October 22. For details visit nesta.org.uk.