An inventor obsessed with robots has created a lifelike moving baby for a TV hospital drama series.

Ian Watts, 42, was asked by the BBC to put the doll together for episodes of Holby City.

The creation is named aB, short for Animated Baby and pronounced Abbie.

Ian, of Madehurst Close, Brighton, said: "A friend of mine who works on the programme was bemoaning the fact their baby mannequins don't move.

"I was asked if I was interested in making a moving baby and I thought it was a great thing to do.

"There is a baby in the script every week or so and now they have aB for those scenes."

The robotic baby is made of layers of silicone and measures about 14in.

She can kick, turn her head, breathe and move her arms with the help of electronics concealed beneath cot sheets.

Ian said: "She really is the devil doll and it is freaky when she lies there moving.

"Her animatronics are not attached, so when you pick her up she's 100 per cent baby."

Ian first achieved fame in 1999 when he made metal monsters for the BBC's Robot Wars.

He came up with the idea of building them after his son Joe, nine, showed an interest in machines.

Together, father and son have created robots for competitions, with Joe acting as team captain and weapons officer.

Their remote-controlled Bigger Brother, made of steel, bulletproof plastic and titanium, has attended the Battlebots challenge in Las Vegas.

The robot's sibling, Little Sister, will compete in San Francisco in May and Ian is taking his wife Catherine, Joe, and daughters Ellie, six, and Megan, five, on the trip.

He said: "I never expected people to queue 20 deep for my autograph and I've been asked for it all over the place.

"We have enormous fun as a family and Joe gets a cut of any prize money so he's very happy."

Ian and Joe are displaying their robots at the Model World Show at the Brighton Centre this weekend.