Real-life 'Flubber', made in the UK, saving lives in war zones and on the football field

“I could tell you who they are but then I’d have to pay out half a million for breaking my contract,” says Sawyer.

Alongside protecting A-list celebrities from harm, a fast growing niche for D30 is in American football. “Football players are like rutting rams when they clash,” says Sawyer. “We developed a new helmet liner in partnership with US firm Schutt that is significantly reducing brain trauma.”

Workers on oil rigs across the US are also currently trialling new D30 gloves that could massively reduce the number of hand injuries. D30 is soft and flexible, so maintains dexterity when injected into a glove. Safety gloves have historically been thick and bulky, like a baseball mitt. “Workers would just leave them in their back pocket,” says Sawyer.

Engineering the glove was a grisly process for D30, which tested the prototypes on cadaver hands to measure the effect of varying degrees of pressure. “We needed to see what will and won’t break a bone,” explains Sawyer. “It’s a bit gross but it will save a lot of people a lot of trauma.”

Many workers have refused to give the prototype gloves back. “It’s a ringing endorsement for the glove but a bit annoying for us, as we need to measure the wear and tear,” says Sawyer.

Average compensation pay-outs for hand injuries range from $70,000 (£42,000) to $2m so rig owners such as Nabors are keen to work with D30 and avoid expensive claims.

The French gendarmerie started using D30 after realising that their riot gear enraged protesters. “When they came out looking like Robocop, they incited violence so we created a range of stealth protection that goes under their normal uniforms,” Sawyer says.

Once a new application has been developed, it can then we applied to other industries – American football helmets to motorcycle ones, for example. “We’ve had a lot of letters from bikers saying thank you for saving my life,” says Sawyer.

It took two years to learn how to engineer a way to get D30 in a range of Karrimor trainers but just two months to solve a similar challenge with workwear boots. Research and development has been accelerated by a massive increase in headcount. The company has gone from 15 people to 60 in three years. “We’ll hit 100 in the next 18 months,” Sawyer says.

The majority of D30’s revenues are generated from exports. The company won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise this year and is currently looking to raise £10m to help it to open a new office in the US next year.

D30 was first discovered by British scientist Richard Palmer in 1999. He purportedly named the material after the room in the University of Hertfordshire where the material was first isolated. Sawyer, a retired windsurfing champion, was appointed CEO in 2010.

“Once you start thinking of applications, it’s hard to stop,” he says. “My line whenever anyone walks into my office now is, 'Yes but not now.”

The automotive industry is next on Sawyer’s hitlist: he plans to use D30 to help create a smoother ride.

D30’s fanbase is clamouring for a different application. “I get a lot of letters from kids asking for an impact protection suit so that they can be indestructible,” he says. “They send drawings and everything. Everyone wants to be Superman.”

D30 has grown turnover 300pc in the past two years to £10m. By 2017, that figure will hit £50m. “It’s very exciting that we are this tiny company in Portslade that is changing the world,” says Sawyer.

It helps to have a product with “wow” factor, he admits, picking up a piece of D30 and moulding a bridge over his hand. Taking a mallet, he hits the putty with full force. His hand is unhurt.

“Impressive right?” he says. “It’s a great show piece in meetings.”

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