A puppeteer behind a hi-tech cartoon character has vowed to fight on after being shot down in flames in the Dragons' Den.

David Field, of Alfriston, near Seaford, presented his virtual puppet to the fiery panel of self-made multi-millionaires on the BBC show last night.

The father-of-two believes the 3D character is the future of shopping, advertising, corporate events and children's parties.

But the "fat cats", including mobile phone guru Peter Jones and former Millwall FC chairman Theo Paphitis, were unimpressed by the idea and sent David packing - without the £200,000 he was after.

Millions of viewers saw the 39-year-old appealing to the Dragons for investment into his state-of-the-art motion capture technology system.

Projected on a plasma screen, the character imitates the body movements and facial expressions of whoever is wearing a special suit fitted with sensors to detect the smallest gesture.

David vowed to fight on and said business was booming.

"Going into the den was terrifying and it took an awful lot of preparation and money from all different sources just to get to that stage," he said.

"I just froze in front of them.

I knew I would be nervous but I didn't think it would be that bad. It's even worse than you imagine it. They liked the idea but wouldn't invest.

"There are plenty of stories of people who were rejected in the den but still became a success, so I won't lose heart."