PAUL "The Plumber" Davidson, who is chasing a £100million pay out from government financial watchdogs who wrongly accused him of dodgy dealings, said last night: "The future looks quite rosy".

It was a bit of an understatement for the famous 50-year-old tycoon who invented and patented a simple but revolutionary device - the Oyster converter - for painting behind household radiators.

For the man who launched the successful engineering company Oystertec in Tytherington in 1999 and the handy "push fit" pipe has gone from rags to riches to rags - and is now back on the road to riches in the wake of a controversial tribunal decision.

And although 'The Plumber' won't earn his immediate fortune from business - after his drugs technology company Cyprotex's share price plummeted - he expects to make it in damages from the government regulating body who blundered.

And then he pledges he will start working on a new business deal which will scoop him even more cash.

He said confidently: "I expect to get at least £100million for personal injury and loss of status claim."

Paul's name was dragged through the mud when he was fined an unprecedented £75,000 by the Financial Services Association (FSA).

He said: "It completely changed my life, it affected everything. All the projects I was working on went down the drain, so did my social standing."

"My wife left me after 24 years of marriage, she couldn't stand the pressure or the media attention."

Last week, after a four-year battle, he won an appeal at a tribunal against the fine and a charge of market abuse, leaving FSA red-faced and running for cover.

But Paul, who once boasted a fleet of 30 high-powered upmarket cars and now relies on public transport, won't be popping celebratory champagne corks until he collects the cash.

Now living with his parents Irene and Frank, both 75, in Tytherington Estate, he had to forsake the high life and the luxury home he had in Prestbury for the past four years - but he reckons it's on its way back.

He claims his well-publicised fall from grace meant he lost status in the community, resulting in plummeting shares in Cyprotex, the Beech Lane company in which he had invested more than £4m forcing him to file for bankruptcy.

"Share prices in Cyprotex just crashed - they went from being worth £30 million to £3 million,"

he said. "One minute you're a millionaire, the next you're not."

In the space of one year, Paul lost everything.

"I had to watch my fleet of more than 30 classic cars being driven down the driveway to be liquidated," he said. "The worst scenario was seeing my Bentley Azure, my favourite car, go."

He said his two children, James, 21, a student at Salford University and Lauren, a beautician, were badly affected in the scandal.

"They just had to get used to a completely different lifestyle, and the pressure had a knock-on effect," he said.

The FSA had claimed that Paul engineered spread bets on Cyprotex, a biotech company, to help the company's flotation on the Alternative Investment Market in 2002.

Paul, who represented himself in the tribunal, said the FSA had no grounds for the market abuse fine and no evidence to support the claim.

It cost him more than £1m to fight his own corner against a QC, and a team of two internal lawyers, but he says that in the big scheme of things, that's "just pocket change".

He added: "Their arrogance was unbelievable, and they haven't even apologised. They just wrote me a letter saying not to expect any money.

"They were out to get me because I was high profile, on their radar - but they had no evidence.

"It was patently obvious they had nothing to bring against me. I'm a lot brighter than most lawyers anyway."

The three-member tribunal panel rejected the authority's case and expressed surprise that the FSA had even alleged he had concealed arrangements to help the flotation of Cyprotex, saying there was "much evidence to the contrary" and said they were sorry he had been so adversely affected.

An FSA spokeswoman said: "We have never had to pay out for an appeal before, but the tribunal system is fairly new. We will not comment on this specific case."

But for all the harm done to him, Paul now expects big compensation - and so does his lawyer.

He has enlisted Macclesfield lawyer Steven Shepherd, of Shepherd Evans on Jordangate to help him chase the damages.

Steven said: "This is the biggest and most unusual case I have ever dealt with. One hundred million pounds is quite a reasonable estimate - and maybe it will be more."

He added: "Paul would have been in a secure financial position now if it weren't for the FSA, and that has been destroyed."

Mr Shepherd said he has asked to negotiate for an out of court settlement but the FSA won't even talk about it.

He added: "It may take two years if we go to court - but I reckon Paul will be able to afford a new car at the end of it."

On the way to see his lawyer, Paul said: "The future is looking rosy now."

And then with a wry smile The Plumber added: "I have a business idea in the pipeline."