A 16-year-old boy from Coulsdon has launched his award winning product on Kickstarter after obtaining a national engineering award.

Chris Kalogroulis won the Intermediate Engineering award at the 2017 Big Bang Fair Young Scientists and Engineering Fair.

His product, Stackamals, are 3D models made by stacking thin layers of wood into the shape of an animal.

Speaking about the products - which can be used as a secret storage, a decoration and a keyring - the Sutton Grammar A Level student, said: "Stackamals are great fun to build and you end up with a beautiful and useful object at the end.

“Stackamals are great fun to build and you end up with a beautiful and useful object at the end."

The student has now launched the product on Kickstart - a crowdfunding platform for creative projects - and has received enough orders to book a production slot with a factory.

Production of his Stackamals, which include a piggy bank, a secret storage frog and a dolphin keyring, will start in October in time for Christmas sales. Chris has raised over £6,000 in investment to make this happen.

Alex Kalogroulis, dad to Chris, commented: "I'm really proud that Chris wants to become an engineer or product designer. With a real passion for turning his ideas into reality, his career is off to a great start."

Chris first came up with the idea for a Stackamal frog when he was 14.

His Design and Technology (DT) teacher, Ms Andrews, encouraged him to enter the product into national competitions and in 2016 Chris won the Technology, Design and Innovation award hosted by the Manufacturing Technologies Association.

Ms Andrews said: “I have been Chris’s DT teacher for the last four years. Students like Chris, with a passion for design and engineering, are what makes my job worthwhile.”

The prices for the Stackamals are set at £6 for a dolphin, £16 for a frog and £30 for a piggy bank.

Parents Alex and Amanda are both product designers. They put their projects on hold to help their son start a company, register a website and approach laser cutting factories.

Chris' products can be viewed further on the website www.stackamals.co.uk