A NEW imagination centre was opened at West Thornton School last Thursday.

The centre, which aims to give children the space to come up with and create their own inventions, is the brainchild of Bill Currie, who was named British Inventor of the Year in 2008.

IMAGINATION: Award-winning children from Cypress Junior School at the new imagination centre's opening with Alan Potter, director of education for Croydon Council (cutting the ribbon), and Bill Currie

The school, in Rosecourt Road, Croydon, has lent the Upper Norwood-based inventor use of a large temporary building where the centre has been set up.

Mr Currie said: "We're trying to get children inventing from an early age. You read things about kids as young as 10 joining gangs for protection which is so silly.

"I'm saying join my gang, you won't get into any trouble and could become famous."

Croydon Council will pay for a minibus to take children from schools across the borough to the imagination centre, where they will be given talks by inventors and encouraged to come up with their own ideas for inventions.

For the opening Mr Currie was joined by brainy children from South Norwood's Cypress Junior School, where he runs an inventors' club.

He recently took three teachers and eight pupils from the school to the Spanish Invention and Ideas Exhibition, where they scooped four plaques and medals for their inventions.