A prototype domestic watermist extinguishing system has won the 2009 James Dyson award for innovative design.

Automist is said to fit directly onto a standard kitchen tap. In the event of a fire, a wireless heat detector triggers a pump located under the sink to drive water through nozzles, creating a fine mist.

Royal College of Art design graduates and inventors of the system, Yusuf Muhammed and Paul Thomas, received a £10,000 cash prize, as did their university department.

The idea for the design is said to have come from a brainstorming session with a number of firefighters at Chelsea fire station. The graduates have now formed a company to further test and develop the system.

The James Dyson Award is an international design award which aims to celebrate, encourage and inspire the next generation of design engineers. It is run by the James Dyson Foundation, set up by vacuum cleaner inventor, James Dyson.