Inventor of the wind-up radio dies at 80

The inventor of the wind-up radio, Trevor Baylis, has died aged 80.

He is believed to have died of natural causes in his home on Eel Pie Island, in Twickenham, south-west London, yesterday morning. David Bunting, who runs his company, Trevor Baylis Brands, said he had been ill for a long time and has no living relatives.

Mr Baylis, who was awarded a CBE for services to intellectual property in 2015, had been seriously debilitated, having suffered from Crohn’s disease, he added. Scotland Yard said his death is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner.

“Police were called by London Ambulance Service at 8.47am on Monday 5 March to reports of a man taken ill at an address in Eel Pie Island, Twickenham,” the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

“Officers attended and the man, believed aged in his 80s, was pronounced dead at the scene. Inquiries continue to trace and inform next of kin.”

Mr Baylis developed the wind-up radio in 1992 for people in the Third World who do not have access to electricity or batteries.