A 16-year-old from Essex has won the competition to create a brand-new creature for ITV1’s Primeval.

Carim Nahaboo’s design of a new future predator evolved from carnivorous beetle was selected from more than 5,000 entries.

Carim’s beast will feature in series three of the time-travel adventure series in 2009, when Cutter and the team do battle with the monster in episode eight.

Carim said: “I’m really interested in predatory insects and took inspiration from the way in which they hunt and kill, but the design is based mainly on a preying mantis.

“I can’t quite believe I’ve won. I’ve watched the series since the start and I’m really excited about seeing my design on screen.”

Tim Haines, co-creator of Primeval, said: “We were overwhelmed with the amount and quality of entrants we received for the Create A Creature Competition; everyone who entered worked extremely hard to create original and exciting creatures.

“Hand-picking the winner from the thousands of designs was a difficult but hugely enjoyable process but there was something really special about Carim’s entry that made it stand out from the rest. We think his creature is going to make episode eight of Primeval series three one to remember!”