Inventor: Jane Mitchell
Invention: Plug Pal
Inventor’s location: Llantrisant, UK

Jane Mitchell, from Llantrisant is a first time inventor, but she won a gold medal at the industry-leading British Invention Show for her Plug Pal invention.

Plug Pal, her invention, is a safety device that can be used to protect children and help disabled or elderly people. It prevents cables and flexes from getting tangled and keeps plugs out of reach of kids. Plug Pal also eliminates the need to stretch to retrieve plugs. That way, the disabled can work with it more easily. Plug Pal can be attached to most surfaces. The invention has a very good design, and comes in a variety of colours to suit all environments.

Jane Mitchell said she came up with the idea while working in a commercial kitchen. There, she noticed that they were always unplugging equipment and often would leave the plugs lying around and frequently they would fall behind worktops and equipment, or could become wet.

There was strong competition – there were plenty of inventions from bright inventors like her – but Mrs Mitchell beat them all to get the gold medal.