Sometimes great ideas are treated a bit like family heirlooms - left to gather dust in the attic even though you suspect they might be worth a bob or two.

John Chambers, of Old Motcombe Mews, Eastbourne, came up with the concept for a board game based on the letters of the alphabet in the winter of 1987.

For 20 years the idea was shelved but in the past 12 months John has turned the idea into reality. Early indications are he could have a best-seller.

The game, entitled Blackhole, involves players travelling around the board collecting vowels, consonants and combination letters - for example sh.

Like scrabble the aim is to create words, but Blackhole combines elements of a traditional board game where players have to complete a journey.

In this instance, the first player to travel from the Earth around the solar system and back again is the winner. Players who land on black holes risk losing all their letters.

John, who appears on BBC 2's Dragons' Den tonight, has been selling hundreds of copies of the game in the past few weeks, banking thousands of pounds.

The 60-year-old has been selling them at trade fairs and schools and thinks he may have invented the "new scrabble."

He said: "We've got a really hot potato here. Sales have gone ballistic."

He said he had quickly drawn up the game and tested it out on his sons who were 12, 13 and 15 at the time.

He added: "They were not overly enthusiastic so I put the bits of paper away and forgot all about it. Last year when we were moving house I found the original bits of paper and decided to test it out again on the family at Christmas. This time my children, now grown up, were much more enthusiastic so I decided to get it manufactured.

"In the past year the game has been through ten to 15 redesigns but it's amazing how similar the final and original design are."

The playing cards are made by Sompting Press in Cokeham Road, Lancing.

John used to be a general manager for Shell Chemicals but spent the last 16 years of his career as a teacher.