DEREK Roberts hit on a bright idea as he sat fishing on a river bank - and this was one that didn't get away!

Now Derek is now hoping to reel in a small fortune from a new fishing lure he fashioned out of an old plastic pop bottle he found in a hedge.

Derek's inspiration came as he sat with a friend who was fishing on the River Ribble one day.

His pal lost his last fishing lure snagged on reeds on the river bed - another fiver lost in the river!

Rather than return home early Derek, 52, who works as an injection moulder at RPC at Guide, decided to try to make his own lure.

Using the pop bottle and his penknife he doctored up a basic fish shape, attached the bait and his friend was ready to go again.

And over the next few hours he caught several fish - in fact more than the other hopefuls on the river. Over the next few months Derek refined the design of his makeshift lure, sold his family caravan to pay for further development and patented his Spinit fishing lure - a clear plastic shape which is used for spinning bait for predatory fish such as salmon.

After developing prototypes he asked Lune Fishing Club to try it out. The club members raved about it and some claimed it had helped them in competitions.

Derek was now convinced the Spinit in was a winner but needed business advice to help launch it as a product.

He contacted Business Link East Lancashire, and their design expert Ellis Pitt and The Practice design consultants helped him refine the packaging.

Now the Spinit has been launched at £2.99 for six and Derek is starting to sell it through local fishing shops. He said: "It has been a real hit with fishermen so we just need to convince the shops to start selling it!"

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