Bright idea for a perfectly boiled egg

London: A British inventor says he has cracked the age-old riddle of how to boil the perfect egg - get rid of the water.

Simon Rhymes uses powerful light bulbs instead of boiling water to cook the egg.

The gadget does the job in six minutes, and then chops off the top of the egg to allow dipping with toast.

"Many people are confused," the 23-year-old product design student told BBC radio on Wednesday.

"This simply uses four 500-watt bulbs to heat the egg directly," he added.

Rhymes said he has secured a patent and is in talks to mass-produce the device.