A MONMOUTH schoolgirl has won a national engineering competition after wowing judges with an eco-friendly invention.

Lisa Davies entered her eco-friendly ‘Xorbit’- a car dehumidifier with a difference - into an annual science, technology, engineering and maths contest last year.

The 14-year-old beat around 200 finalists from across the UK to become junior engineer of the year at the Big Bang Fair, hosted at Birmingham’s NEC.

Following judges’ advice, she made changes to improve Xorbit – which also functions as an air freshener and fits neatly into car cup-holders - in time for the finals, following advice from the judging panal.

She said: “Everything about Xorbit is now compostable. The silica gel (which enables Xorbit to dehumidify the car) was already eco-friendly, but the cup was made out of plastic.

“Now it’s made out of PLA, a bioplastic, and the fragrance comes from a scented piece of wood, so the whole thing is completely compostable.

“I think this sets it apart even more from what’s already available.”

The Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Girls (HMSG) pupil added: “The judges were really impressed by the product and their advice was to keep going.

“It has motivated me even more and inspired me to go further with Xorbit.

“It’s more of a reality now that I could see it on the shelves eventually.”

Anne Kavanagh, head of physics at HMSG, said: “She’s a brilliant role model.”