A surgeon who was inspired by his aunt's sewing machine to invent a pioneering heart surgery device has been given an award.

Prof Gianni Angelini, a surgeon at the Bristol Royal Infirmary, was one of many surgeons faced with the problem of being unable to stitch a moving heart during coronary artery surgery.

But while visiting his family in Italy in the 1990s, he watched his aunt use a sewing machine to stitch a pair of his trousers - and was inspired to create a stabilising surgical device.

He has now been honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Coronary Artery Surgery for his work on The Angelini articulated stabiliser.

"I was visiting the family," said Prof Angelini. "I'd just bought a pair of trousers which needed to be shortened.

"My aunty, a seamstress, was doing the job. And suddenly, I saw the foot of the sewing machine which was pressing against the trousers.

"And I realised then, I needed something like that."

Prof Angelini and his team at the Bristol Heart Institute then pioneered a new technique to perform coronary artery bypass surgery on a beating heart using his device.

It enables operations to take place without having to slow the patient's heart down, which improves how the heart is protected and increases the chances of survival for patients.

Before this, a bypass machine had to be used to pump blood around the patient so the heart could remain still and be operated on – a procedure which can come with complications.