Two Urmston businessmen braved the Dragons' Den and came out with £80,000 in scenes aired on BBC One.

Ashley Washington and Max Thorley appeared on the show to ask for investment into their business, Shocal. 

Started around four years ago by Ashley and Max, who are neighbours at their homes off Church Road, the business is an app and a website which allows residents to order online from independent retailers in their area. It is in Coventry, Liverpool and Manchester at the moment, but is soon to be nationwide.

In scenes aired on BBC One on February 2, it received support from Touker Suleyman, who now owns a significant stake in Shocal.

Messenger Newspapers: Max Thorley and Ashley WashingtonMax Thorley and Ashley Washington (Image: BBC)

In an interview with The Messenger, a newspaper he once delivered, Ashley said: "It's like the most stressful interview you've ever done. We were in there for over two hours."

The Dragons were impressed by the business and its co-founders, but apart from Mr Suleyman none were sure of a return on their investment in Shocal.

One of them, the multi-millionaire social media mogul Steven Bartlett, said: "You've done good. However, you're bringing a spud gun to a nuclear war.

"It's harder than it's ever been. There are companies all over who've come and raised a huge amount and they've fallen one by one because of how competitive this space is."

Messenger Newspapers: Max Thorley and Ashley WashingtonMax Thorley and Ashley Washington (Image: BBC)

Ashley said there were times when it looked like it could end in disappointment.

He said: "We thought we were doing OK, but when Deborah [Meaden] went out it was like 'Oh God. This is going to be embarrassing in the school playground.' Touker came to the rescue."

The show was recorded more than six months ago, with 'a lot of things happening' since then. But Ashley still runs this business alongside the business he owns with his wife, Flowers by Siobhan, while Max works as a developer for the NHS.

He said: "We spoke to Touker a couple of times and now we speak with his staff. We're still in the talking phase, it takes a long time. But it's exciting and there are a lot of things happening."

Dragons' Den is available on BBC iPlayer. 

This article was written by Jack Tooth. Jack is the reporter for The Messenger and covers anything and everything from within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford.

To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.