THE inventor of a pump spray that works at any angle hopes he has a roaring success on his hands after securing investment on TV’s Dragon’s Den.

Michael Pritchard, from Copford, got £125,000 from entrepreneurs Theo Paphitis and Peter Jones in return for a 20 per cent stake in his Anyway spray.

The spray, designed to work with anything from cleaning products to perfumes, has a tube with millions of tiny holes in it.

This allows a constant spray if any of the tube is in contact with liquid. The 42-year-old got the idea while cleaning the kitchen.

He said: “I sprayed some cleaner at the floor, but nothing came out, when there was definitely something in the bottle.

“It was just because I was holding the bottle at an angle. So I looked at how to make a spray work however you hold it.”

As well as ease of use, the spray makes sure every last drop of product in a bottle is used, bringing financial and environmental benefits.

Michael has patents pending in 48 countries and interest from several manufacturers.

He said: “I’m confident I will have a deal soon and with Peter and Theo’s help I will get a better deal than I would otherwise.”

The key to success on the BBC show was “knowing what I wanted to come out with”, said Michael.

He said: “I went in there for the money and to get the product more widely known, but also to get access to some industry contacts.

“You need to know your product inside out, answer their questions, but be strong and tell them if you disagree.”

Michael spent more than 90 minutes presenting his case, which was edited down to just a few minutes on last Wednesday’s programme.

He joked: “James Caan and Duncan Bannatyne didn’t feel there was much need for the product, but then I guess they haven’t done much cleaning.

“I was very happy to have Peter, because he knows about technology, and Theo is as strong on retail.” Michael, who has two daughters with wife Sally, first started inventing as a child.

He had difficulty reading map references at school and came up with his own system.

Two years ago he launched the Lifesaver water purification bottle, which works by filtering dirty water through holes so tiny they can screen out the smallest known bacteria and viruses.

The device is currently being tested by the British Army in Afghanistan.

He added: “We’ve got lots of soldiers buying it directly from us already. When that starts to happen you know you’re on to a winner.”