When Reg Windsor read about York's recent flood devastation he came out of retirement to try and help.

The 58-year-old inventor has made it his mission to ensure the level of damage seen in the November floods is never repeated.

He is travelling the country selling his own invention - the Floodgate - and believes the simple device will stop water getting into homes. It is a device he designed in the late 1970s, but which has been largely forgotten.

Mr Windsor invented the Floodgate after horrific floods where he lives in Newton Abbott in Devon in 1979, and said people had proved it worked.

The device attaches to an ordinary front or back door and covers as high as a quarter of the height of the door - or at least to a window level.

Mr Windsor said: "This device puts an end to the medieval process of stacking sand bags. Why use such an old idea when this gate can be slotted on within minutes?

"I'm not God - I can't stop the flooding - but I can stop it from getting into homes and causing a nightmare for people and their possessions."

The gate is made of UPVC and can be fitted in about 20 minutes. The edging stays permanently attached to a door-frame and the main panel slots in when needed.

Mr Windsor has met council officials to demonstrate his invention to them.

A spokesman for City of York Council said: "We have been contacted by a number of people and organisations over the last few weeks offering to show us measures to protect properties from flood waters.

"Things like floodgates or panels for domestic properties may well offer partial protection from flood water although water can often get into properties through floors and air bricks," he added.

"We have been happy to talk to a number of these individuals about their ideas but we are not in a position to make any recommendations or suggestions for action at the moment."

For more information about the Floodgate, which costs £75, contact 01626 824970.