An invention which could have netted a fortune for a ten-year-old schoolboy is to appear on the market because someone else beat him to it.

Benjamin Fitch dreamed of the future of dental hygiene in the form of a toothbrush with a built-in supply of toothpaste.

The Marks Tey Primary School pupil drew the idea in a school book in class and gave it to his teacher earlier this year.

Proud dad Keith Fitch, of London Road, Marks Tey, said: "He did this sketch at school with his idea and the teacher told him to take it home and tell your dad to put a patent on it."

Benjamin's creation named the pumping brush consisted of a screw on toothbrush to attach directly to a toothpaste pump.

Mr Fitch set about working his way through the complicated legal process to patent the invention.

But Benjamin was disappointed to hear somebody has squeezed him out of the market with the same idea elsewhere in the country before it could be finalised.

The man from Northampton sold the idea to a major multinational company which plans to put it on sale within the next year.

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