A company based in the region shipped a water-testing laboratory to the Netherlands this week.

Labman Automation, of Stokesley, North Yorkshire, designed and manufactured the laboratory on behalf of Vitens, the Netherlands' largest portable water supply company.

Technicians from Labman are helping to install the £1.3m laboratory, with completion scheduled for early next year.

It will analyse up to 2,000 samples a day from water supplied to Vitens' four million customers.

The automated laboratory will detect and measure traces of contaminants. The work is currently carried out by a number of laboratories using manual systems.

Wouter van Delft, project manager overseeing the venture on behalf of Vitens, said: "We have decided to invest in automated laboratory technology to give us the cheapest and fastest water analysis in the business.

"We chose to award the contract to Labman Automation because of their readiness to invest in preliminary development work."