The fur flies as Keighley gardener does battle with TV Dragons (From Keighley News)

The fur flies as Keighley gardener does battle with TV Dragons

9:02am Thursday 27th September 2012 in News

A Keighley landscape gardener will go head-to-head with business tycoons this Sunday on TV show Dragons’ Den.

Michael Smith will be seen haggling with the millionaires in a bid to secure cash to develop his work-saving invention.

Michael – who has been successfully creating gardens in Keighley for about 30 years – is said to give as good as he gets.

Michael’s Wheelbarrow Booster is a specially-shaped bag that attaches to a normal barrow with elastic.

This triples the size of a wheelbarrow so it can carry more garden waste without any extra effort.

Michael created the booster more than 15 years ago and uses it in his own day-to-day work.

With son Joe, who lives in Northampton, he last year formed the company Greanbase Ltd to market the product.

As well as selling through their own website, they have landed a deal with national DIY chain Homebase to sell the Booster.

The Smiths agreed to go on Dragons’ Den because they needed outside investment in order to buy more stock.

Joe said the resulting interview with some of the fiercest personalities in television promised to make memorable viewing.

He said Michael argued with one of the Dragons because he didn’t like the deal he was being offered.

He said: “Refusing to conform to normal Den protocol, Mike airs his own views.”

Joe said his father came up with several designs for the “simple and ingenious” Booster to improve one of the more onerous aspects of his own job.

Joe said: “He was sick to death of going to the compost heap. He likes to problem-solve.

Dragons’ Den can be seen at 9pm on Sunday, on BBC2.