Meet the man who could save the planet by unlocking the secret of nuclear fusion - or accidentally create an atomic explosion in his Wimbledon bedroom.

Retired lab technician, Christopher Stephens, has spent more than two years building a reactor in the back of his Kenley Gardens home and admits there are some risks to his ongoing nuclear experiment.

“The idea is to produce a fusion reaction that creates electricity and solves our energy crisis,” said the 66-year-old.

“There’s a small chance of causing a nuclear explosion but I would have thought it’d be very small. The risk is that I cause a reaction without being able to control it.”

Police were alerted to the potential risk of Christopher’s work after he took an advert out in the Radio Society of Great Britain’s members magazine, seeking an amplifier to be added to his device.

He even wrote in the ad: “I want see if I can create a thermonuclear fusion reaction. There is a danger from radiation and a possible nuclear explosion if the power runs away.”

But leading physicists reassured officers there was absolutely no possibility of the experiment working and all that could be created was a pretty pink glow from a small amount of ionised hydrogen.

Christopher worked at Aldermaston in the 1960s helping to make atomic bombs. But after 40 years as a technician in several Merton schools, his new aim is to put science to more constructive use.

He hopes to show how an atom can be split to produce power, but without the radioactive waste currently produced at nuclear power stations.

“If I get this right it could mean a lot of cheap power for a lot of people without any impact on the environment,” he added. “It will mean we can do away with coal and gas and it will be great for the ecology of the planet.

“But I don’t think I’ll take this much further because it’ll become too dangerous.”

Merton residents can breathe a sigh of relief.