CLIVE Wing believes the eco lighting system he developed in his back room could become the first major environmentally friendly find of the 21st century Clive, of Southbourne Grove, Westcliff has spent five years tinkering with a new light source, which he says is capable of shining brightly across the whole world.

He claims his Sulphur Plasma Light is the most natural source of unnatural illumination on the planet, using less power than a conventional household bulb, at a fraction of the cost.

The 47-year-old believes his find can also improve working conditions in medical, mining and maritime operations and, most importantly help end starvation and improve productivity in human beings “The Sulphur Plasma Light can improve the quality of life for everybody around the world,” says Clive.

Clive didn’t invent the light, but developed an old piece of technology in his back room, which is a chaotic jumble of design drawings, lighting tubes and lamps.

“It was originally developed by an American scientist,” explains Clive, who happily admits his experimentation has caused him numerous electric shocks. “But he failed to review the patent, which allowed me to develop it further.

“I stumbled across the light on the internet when I found pictures of a crop growing in a dark underground complex in America.

“I always had a keen interest in lighting and couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I’d never heard of a light powerful enough to do this.

“I started trying to track the light down and a contact of mine in China sourced the only Sulphur Plasma Light bulb in existence.

“The bulb was fine, but didn’t have a power source so I started experimenting with ways of igniting it. Eventually, I took a microwave oven apart and fired microwaves into the bulb.

“It did the trick, lit up and threw out the most pure white light I have ever seen. It really was amazing. I had the light source, now I just needed to build a machine and cooling system which could harness its power.”

Clive constructed an operational cabinet for the bulb, first from wood and then from metal, before placing it on the internet and receiving excited feedback from top scientists across the globe.

“I had e-mails from Russia, America, Korea and Sweden. They couldn’t believe what they were seeing because of the long term implications of the light,” he adds.

“This device produces a natural light. It is an illumination engine which can inject light into a tube above a swimming pool, or a lamp above an operating theatre.

“It is the purest and brightest light on the planet, a mini sun on Earth which radiates all colours of the spectrum through its beam.

“Most importantly, it is environmentally friendly. The bulb is biodegradable and can be thrown straight on the garden as a fertiliser once it is spent.”

Clive claims the light offers massive benefits for the populations of all continents. “The applications are huge,” he says. “Take crops. You could grow bananas in a warehouse in the middle of London under this light.

“But more importantly it is a cheaper source of power which lasts longer, meaning it would have major benefits in poorer countries.

“Studies have been made into its benefits. On tests using cucumbers, corn, cabbage and carrots the vegetable yield showed an increase of up to a third, using half the electricity in the process, which is economically and environmentally impressive.”

Clive also claims the light could have uplifting benefits in offices and educational centres.

“The lighting we have at the moment, in buildings and on the streets, is so inferior it’s a wonder we’re not walking around and bumping into each other,” smiles the former Marconi employee.

“Sulphur plasma illumination operates in the full spectrum of colours, suppressing melatonins in our bodies which make us sleepy.”

So why hasn’t Clive taken his lamp, which in its flimsy metallic casing currently looks like something out of a low budget Seventies sci-fi film, on to Dragon’s Den?

“It’s too public and they don’t have enough money,” he laughs. “We’ve had a few sniffs and there are talks ongoing, but what I am really looking for is an investor to take it to the next stage.

“At the moment it costs £2,000 to build one unit. But if I could get £400,000 it would enable me to create a template for mass production and bring the unit cost down to about £100.”

For more information, visit www.plasma-i.com