Sales of home security device Patlock have boomed since its appearance on BBC Two’s Dragons’ Den earlier this month, with a year-on-year increase of over 200%.

Craig Knott, the founder of the gadget that helps lock French doors, was seen being grilled by the Dragons for the television programme on February 5. Despite leaving the den without the investment he’d asked for, Mr Knott says that he’s seen sales of Patlock go through the roof as a result of his TV appearance.

“Sales of Patlock have more than trebled this month compared to February last year,” he explained. “Getting the chance to beam the product directly into people’s front rooms was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and it’s had an enormously-positive impact on the business. To see such a boost in sales directly after the show was amazing and demonstrated so clearly the customer demand for our product.”

Patlock is the latest DIY product success story after making an appearance on the BBC Two reality investor show, following the likes of The Truncator and the Wheelbarrow Booster, who failed to take home funding from the Dragons but saw a huge spike in sales following their television debut. Grip It, another DIY product, whose 19-year old creator managed to get the dragons on board, saw sales rocket after the show and bagged his company an award. Not to mention Chocbox founder Peter Moule, who secured his first £1million just three months after appearing on the show in 2008, without having to spend a penny of the £150,000 investment he secured.

The Patlock, which Mr Knott designed and developed in the UK, assists home owners in securing their property against burglars and the method of forced entry known as lock snapping, which involves the breaking of the cylinder from a UPVC door, allowing the trespasser to manipulate the lock to open it. When compromised, the cylinder renders all of the other locking points useless.

The device recently won the award for Best New Product at Totally DIY, a leading UK trade show for retailers and suppliers in the DIY and home improvement sector, which was held on 14 and 15 February.

Mr Knott awarded retail distributorship of Patlock to Burnley-based outdoor living brand Bar-Be-Quick in late 2015, just months before the filming of his episode of Dragons Den. Bar-Be-Quick’s existing channels facilitate listings in stores and online.

Mr Knott said of his experience on the show: “Entering the Dragons’ Den was unlike anything I’d ever done before – and I’m not sure I’d be queueing up to do it again! The dragons give you a really good grilling, which can be pretty tough going, but I tried to give back as good as I got and I think I got some respect for that.”

Although he ultimately left without funding, Mr Knott maintains that the show has been extremely positive for Patlock. He added: “Seeing such a spike in demand has given us the confidence that the customer appetite is there for variations on the product. We are now focusing on developing a newer model to offer customers a choice.”

Patlock is currently listed in Bunnings and online with Screwfix, B&Q, Homebase and Argos.