A TINY electronic device that will help prevent rail disasters has been developed by North-East scientists.

Microlog is a miniature data logger that weighs less than ten grams and packs satellite and mobile phone technology into a unit a third the size of a matchbox.

Installed on the axles of a train, it monitors the tracks to identify potential danger areas. These are pinpointed using satellite technology, and its mobile phone hardware sends a rapid warning to rail operators.

It has been developed by a father and son team at the University of Newcastle's Stephenson Centre.

The building stands less than a mile from the factory where 19th Century entrepreneur Robert Stephenson worked with his father to build the Rocket locomotive.

Lead researcher Dr Jarek Rosinski developed Microlog with his 18-year-old son, Martin, a Newcastle University student.

He said: "We have been working over several years to perfect the design and we are confident it has huge potential in a variety of applications - rail safety being just one of them."

Tests on the device are due to start shortly on the GNER East Coast Mainline, a route which Stephenson was involved in developing almost two centuries ago.

Science and Innovation Minister Lord Sainsbury, in Newcastle yesterday to officially open the Stephenson Centre, held up Microlog as an example of world-class innovation.