A PUB landlord who turned entrepreneur in a bid to help his sick father has investors clamouring to invest in his clean air product.

Richard Greenwood, who runs Ye Olde Man and Scythe in Churchgate, was inspired to set up the his company, Radic8 after failing to find an effective air purifier for his father, 65-year-old Peter Greenwood, who suffers from the lung condition Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

And his design for what he says is the ‘world’s first designer oxygen purifier’ so caught the imagination of backers that Radic8 smashed its crowdfunding target for the new product within hours of launching this week, raising over $50,000.

The Bolton-based company is raising funds towards manufacturing, branding and marketing for the INBair O2 device.

Mr Greenwood said: “I thought if we could do it in the first week, that would be fantastic. But we didn’t expect it that quickly.”

The crowdfunding campaign, via Indiegogo.com, had a target of $25,000 when it was launched on Wednesday and was fully funded within seven hours.

The new product delivers concentrated oxygen through a headset to keep you perked up at work or elsewhere throughout the day.

Mr Greenwood said that demand for recreational use of oxygen is growing but modern buildings are often badly ventilated which means that oxygen levels are low and CO2 levels are high. And he was most concerned about the effect poor air quality was having on his father, who is now a big fan of his products.

He said: “My father developed COPD and it’s really important for sufferers to have good indoor air quality.”

In 2012 Mr Greenwood set up Radic8 in Bolton where product design takes place, whilst manufacturing takes place in South Korea and he partnered with a South Korean company to design INBair O2, a personal oxygen purifier that uses pressure and a vacuum to purify the air..

Last year, the company launched new product lines which are used to tackle airborne diseases and traffic pollution in the healthcare and education sectors.

Radic8 now has 17 international distributors mostly in the healthcare sectors in countries including Germany, Turkey, Czech Republic, Romania.

Mr Greenwood said: “In Europe, we’re having a really big push within the medical sector because we kill all airborne viruses.”

Back home, the company installed one of its products at BUPA’s Fairfield Hospital in St Helens and is currently running trials with the NHS.

Although Mr Greenwood admits that it may take a long time to get an NHS deal, he believes that hospitals have exhausted hand sanitisation efforts.

He said: “I’m sure it will go ahead because the next thing that needs to happen to reduce cross-contamination is to purify the air. Most people are concerned about what they’re breathing in.”

Last year the company gained media attention when a London nursery in an area with dangerously high pollution levels purchased its air filtration machines.

Since then, the company has been awarded a contract to install its products in every classroom in South Korea.

Richard grew up in the Netherlands and travelled the world as a consultant before he moved to Bolton 13 years ago and took over the oldest pub in the town.