A YOUNG entrepreneur says he is 'working 24/7' to bring a smartwatch to market after a £120,000 crowdfunding campaign – with customers having waited nearly two years to receive their products.

Darin Philip, from Howley, attracted backers from around the world on Kickstarter after designing the 'unique' Cronovo smartwatch with a built-in electrocardiogram machine.

But customers have waited nearly two years to receive their watches.

Many are demanding refunds and have expressed concerns over the project as there has been no update on the project since July.

However, Mr Philip says he is 'working 24/7 on the project' and is now hoping to launch the product at the end of March.

The former Priestley College student said: "The project is progressing very well.

"With regards to updates, I am in a bit of a catch 22 situation.

"We have brought high investments into our company and we are working with two billion-dollar technology companies on licensing our technology, and they demand a lot of secrecy in what we reveal to the public.

"This is mainly because the technology companies that want to license from us still need a long time before their products enter the market, and we will do it before them.

"To add to this, there are many competitors that are just waiting to copy our designs as soon as we demo them – which would harm our investment opportunities in the future when we require them.

"At the same time, I do not want to upset the people who bought our watches by providing them with low-quality updates."

Mr Philip, of Riverside Close, has now been working on the project in Asia for more than a year.

He added: "Ultimately, if I do not execute this properly then everyone would be at a loss – especially the backers who initially supported us.

"However, in a month we will be in a very advantageous position for us to start releasing more updates.

"I won’t be returning to England until I successfully complete this project.

"We have resolved a lot of issues already and we are hoping that we do not meet any further problems with any of our suppliers."