Frank Whittle 1907-1996 Thought-up the jet engine while still a student, and was rewarded with indifference by his employer, the Air Ministry. But thousands in the West owe their jobs to him.

Speaking from Spain, Whittle's son Ian told BBC Radio Gloucestershire: "I'm absolutely delighted. Obviously dad would have been terribly pleased and very proud. Well done everybody."

Adam Hart-Davis, who will host the programme, also welcomed the choice.

"This is a storming result and it'll make life easy for us making the programme."

The production team now have just five weeks to make the documentary, which will be broadcast on BBC One on Sunday 21 March.

It will build on stories uncovered by listeners and viewers in the West, who have inundated the BBC with their tales of Whittle.

Close competition

Early in the week, John James had seemed likely to win the vote.

The donations he made to numerous good causes in the Bristol area means he is remembered locally with great affection. But he sought little publicity for himself, and is barely known outside the city.

"I think that once people started to think in more regional terms, it was inevitable that Whittle would whittle the lead away," says Adam Hart-Davis.

"He left a great legacy in the aerospace industry that has a presence all across the region."

Ian Whittle added: "It's actually lovely because he's not really remembered in many parts of the world - they've never heard of Frank Whittle.

Modest man

"In the USA there's a lack of understanding of what he did. You guys are obviously more with it than they are overseas!

"Before he died I noticed that he was worried that he would be forgotten and all his hard work would seem to be for nothing.

"But since his death people have made a tremendous effort to commemorate him and I find people are almost loving about the memory of him.

"He was a good guy and he was quite modest. That came quite easily because he was an engineer and a pilot."

Thousands of votes

More than ten thousand people took part in the voting process to choose one of the five finalists as the regional winner.

Each had been selected by a panel of experts representing one of the BBC's local radio stations.

BBC Radio Gloucestershire chose Whittle, who carried out important work on the development of the jet in the county. He narrowly beat off Sir Peter Scott to the nomination.

John James was the unanimous choice of BBC Radio Bristol.

BBC Somerset Sound chose Michael Eavis, the man behind the Glastonbury Festival.

Explorer David Hempleman-Adams was the choice of BBC Radio Swindon, while sister station BBC Radio Wiltshire nominated William Henry Fox Talbot, the man behind the photographic process.

The nomination process has also raised the profile of dozens of high achieving men and women from the West.

Many of their stories will feature on BBC programmes and websites over the coming months.

For more on Whittle, see the BBC's Gloucestershire website