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This is the moment an inventor's boyhood dream came to life - when he watched a surfer glide across a lake with a handheld electric jet engine for the first time.

Doug Foden took to the Chasewater lake in Staffordshire to test the device - which is capable of helping users travel at up to 50mph, and effectively acts as an alternative to wind.

Watching from dry land last week was 40-year-old engineer Adam Contoret, who has spent two years at his garage in Stoke-on-Trent developing the water-resistant jet engine thrusters.

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Electric jet engine surfing: Doug Foden took to the Chasewater lake in Staffordshire to test the device

Unusual sight: The electric thrusters can give surfers such as Mr Foden speeds of up to 50mph on water

On water: An engineer has spent two years at his garage developing the water-resistant jet engine thruster

Jet powered surfboard goes up to 50 miles per hour!

The married father-of-one told MailOnline: 'When I was about 14, a friend of the family bought us a model aircraft engine - and when my brother and I were testing it, we put it on a wooden board.

'That planted in my mind the idea of having some sort of stand propulsion for a board sport. Years went by and I did paragliding. I made this little bar with two engines and it worked.

'So, then I thought let's make something that you can control the power on. It's just me - I'm not some big company. I spoke with a patent attorney, and we put some drawings together.

'It's still patent pending. I tried it on water quite a while ago using a small bar, but there wasn't enough power. This is the first time it's been done on a lake with an expert.'

Dr Contoret, who is the founder and director of engineering firm Dreamscience, said his technology is still in the early stages, because the device only lasts for ten minutes before the batteries run out.

It is also quite heavy for users, but Dr Contoret added that he expects technology to have improved so much in five years that the device will be half the weight and double the power.

Diagram: The apparatus (10) includes first and second air-moving thrusters (16) arranged at opposite ends of a rigid device (1). The D arrows show possible rotations of the device, the user is 100 and his connection to the unit is 28. The thrusters' housing is 18, and the propeller is 24

Explained: Another diagram of the device, seen from the front this time, which is two years in the making. The numbers in the above caption correspond to the same parts in this image

At the moment, the developers are using several battery packs for testing the device, but it can then be recharged either with a generator or by plugging it back in.

Dr Contoret added that one of the device's major benefits is that the air coming out of it is cold, and that it can handle impact with water - but he is working on a fully-waterproof version.

'It's safe because it's cold,' he said. 'And if you crash you've something to land on.'

Dr Contoret's aim now is to see the device - which he expects to come with a retail price of £3,000 to £6,000 once it is commercially released - used by a team of athletes in a competitive event.

Mr Foden, an experienced windsurfer and snowboarder, told MailOnline: 'The hard thing to begin with was how heavy it is, but once you've got enough thrust going it takes its own weight.

'Initially it's pretty awkward to balance until you come up to speed. It's very experimental, and we're really excited about what other things to do with it.'

He added: 'I only had it half throttle, and it was 25mph - from a windsufing point of view, that's an average speed that most competent windsurfers can get to on a good day.

Development: Adam Contoret, 40, has spent two years developing the water-resistant jet engine thruster

Smiles: Mr Foden (right) watches back his jet engine surfing attempt on the Chasewater lake in Staffordshire

'As you accelerate harder, the bar that you're holding wants to take off, so unless you can keep your arms steady, your arms gradually raise up in the arm and the thrust is then pushing you down rather than along. So you're performing a balancing act.'

Dr Contoret said of seeing the device in action on the water: 'It took me back to when I was a kid with my model aircraft engine, just having a go. We sometimes forget that we can have a bit of fun.'

Dr Contoret said he was also proud of achieving what he had mocked up in a concept image on Adobe Photoshop two years ago - and that the thruster could also be used for snowboarding.

He added: 'The physics of it are quite spectacular, to get enough power to do what the wind does. A snowboard, skateboard - anything you want to jump on - this is your power-kite.'

And he said of his four-year-old daughter: 'She thinks it's normal for people to have a set of thrusters - because she hasn't seen any other. There are two kids in my house - me and my daughter.'