A breakdown mechanic has won an award for innovation after fixing a Land Rover with a potato. 

AA patrolman Mario Papademetriou, from Chingford, made the ingenious repair after being called out to a farm in Potters Bar, Hertfordshire. 

Initially, he tried to fix the broken condenser on the 1960s vintage Land Rover using tin foil and silicone repair tape, but this failed to work. 

The 59-year-old said: "As the vehicle was on a farm, there were a lot of vegetables around, so I thought I’d try wiring up a potato with a couple of screws to act as a condenser.

"Amazingly, it started instantly, so I followed the owner to the garage and he said the vehicle had never driven so well!"

The owner made the 12-mile journey to the garage where the ignition system was properly repaired. 

To show it was not just a coincidence, the AA’s technical department replicated the temporary repair using the AA’s Series I Land Rover and it worked perfectly. 

Mr Papademetriou won the AA competition to find the most original and inventive roadside repair last week, and was awarded with a £50 Dedenhams voucher. 

He was worked for the AA for coming up to 30 years and has had to improvise on hundreds of occasions. 

Adding: "You have to improvise all the time. I knew that a potato can be used to generate electricity and I saw it there and thought I'd give it a go but I didn't expect it would work. 

"Over the years, I've used ladies stockings as a fan belt and used a raw egg to stop a small radiator leak. 

"On modern cars, you can forget it." 

AA technical director, Donald MacSporran, said: "AA patrols work on pretty much any vehicle on the road and pride themselves on their ability to fix them. 

"While they regularly go the extra mile with some very inventive repairs, we continue to invest in their training and equipment to maintain our leading fix rate.

"Although vegetables are best left on the dinner plate, Mario’s use of a potato was definitely a chip above the others – an excellent example of thinking outside the box."