The high-rise bike lock

Dominic Hargreaves, a 23-year-old product design student at the Royal College of Art, has built a working prototype of his bicycle lock, which today won him a design prize.

The device can be fitted to any wall and uses a simple hoist, powered by an electric motor, to raise and lower the bicycle. It could be operated by a remote control, or by the owner swiping their Oyster card on a reader.

Mr Hargreaves, from Battersea, said: "The idea came about after I'd had my bike stolen for the third time in a year.

"I wanted to find a way to put the bike out of reach of thieves, so a hoist seemed an obvious way to do that."

Mr Hargreaves will receive £5,500 as one of three winners in the iQ Design Challenge, in which Toyota asks RCA students and alumni to create products that respond to modern urban life.

Mr Hargreaves plans to use his money to create a second prototype system, and says several manufacturers are interested in making the hoist.

"I hope there will be a low-cost home version, simple enough for people to install themselves. It would be relatively cheap and would certainly create a talking point on London's roads.

"There are also plans for an industrial version for use outside Tube and rail stations. Bike parking takes up a lot of space, and this would be a great way to reclaim that space."

According to police, about 80,000 bicycles were stolen last year, of which fewer than five per cent were returned.

Yusuf Muhammad also won £5,500 for his Yu Type device for "two-fingered typists". Graeme Davis won £4,000 for the Quicksnap design for an ice-cube tray, which prevents all the cubes popping out when the tray is twisted.