A device which proved invaluable for prisoners of war has been recreated decades later.

The "blower", which was first made in camps in Germany, was a fan-assisted gadget made out of old tin cans and used to help fire up cookers.

A modern-day version of the device has now been donated to the Eden Camp wartime history museum, near Malton, North Yorkshire.

Museum archivist Nick Hill said a man living in Chester had managed to recreate the blower from a tin and bits of shoelace to prove to members of his family that it actually worked.

Mr Hill said: "It had a fan with a little winding wheel and meant PoWs could cook with any bits of kindling they could find. Quite a few people have laid claim to coming up with the invention. People took it from camp to camp, claiming it as their own invention."

The museum, which is currently refurbishing its PoW hut, already possessed an original device, together with a cartoon showing how it was used