A Dragons Den entrepreneur from Amersham has faced backlash over his invention, TIME:O:STAT, a device that restricts tenants from constantly running their heating.

Landlord Anthony Cherry sought an £80,000 investment for the device which permits tenants to have their heating on for only two hours at a time.

If tenants desired to keep the heating on for longer, they could utilise the ‘comfort mode’ granting them eight hours at a lower temperature.

This proposition fell foul with viewers of the popular BBC show.

A slew of viewers took to social media to voice their dissent; Liam Lambrini denounced Mr Cherry as a ‘scum bag landlord’.

Another user, robpw2, chimed in voicing his discontent: "Sorry no landlords should not and I repeat not have any control of their tenants heating!!!!"

Other viewers, including _elisecs, expressed similar sentiments, blasting the invention as ‘evil’ and accusing Mr Cherry of 'greed'.

Anthony defended his concept stating that he primarily aimed it at houses of multiple occupancy where landlords often include bills in the rent.

Such houses typically have three or more unrelated tenants.

He explained the inspiration behind his invention, "It was on a maintenance call where I noticed there was a problem."

He spoke about finding the heating on full and the windows open while tenants were away.

"When I spoke to the tenants, they said that the thermostat was too complicated, so they left the heating running continuously.

"When I looked at the thermostat, I completely understood what they were trying to say," Cherry added.

Anthony failed to secure the backing of Dragons Sara Davies and Deborah Meaden, who backed out due to the complexity of thermostats and high capital expenditure, respectively.

Peter Jones and Stephen Bartlett also declined to invest citing strong competition.

However, the entrepreneur ultimately secured his desired investment from property investor Touker Suleyman who negotiated a 35 per cent stake in the business, reducing to 25 per cent upon recouping his investment.

After intense negotiation, Cherry and Suleyman agreed to a deal - Cherry would receive his requested £80,000, with Suleyman claiming a 20 per cent stake if he successfully made a return on his investment.

Responding to the experience, Cherry told cameras afterwards, "That was one of the most intense experiences of my life.

"Amazing tense, scary, nerve-wracking. Wow."

Despite the backlash, Cherry's TIME:O:STAT, launched in 2016, reported a net profit of £93,000 last year.

Retailing at £169.99 to £229.99 per unit, it is considerably more expensive than the average £20 model.