The Small Robot Company has announced this week that they have met their initial crowdfunding target of £1.5m - following the pulling out of their lead investor at the 11th hour.

In a message to their supporters, SMC said, "Less than two weeks ago, we thought our mission could be over. Now with the backing of our incredible community, there is hope."

They went on to say that despite meeting 100% of their initial pledge target, "we're not out of the danger zone."

The company says they now have further targets of £3m where they say they can launch their first pilot franchises where they believe they can start to make progress again - and £4m which they say would position themselves for the next phase of growth.