A DESIGN company may have solved a problem that costs local authorities and road maintenance firms tens of thousands of pounds every year.

Dinsley Devices, of Barnard Castle, County Durham, created a hand-held device that can detect potentially dangerous corrosion in lighting columns.

The machine will enable teams to to check the stability and strength of street lights and roadside lighting pillars in a non-destructive way.

The ColchecK is a battery-operated electromagnetic device which has been designed and developed in the past 18 months.

Charles Owston, managing director of Dinsley Devices, said: "Surface water, salt used to de-ice roads, other pollutants and the ready ingress of air all contribute towards the gradual build-up of a strongly corrosive environment just below and around the base of lighting columns.

"Deterioration of the metal in this area of the column can be especially severe and can lead to the collapse of the entire column without warning, with serious and potentially fatal results, he said.

"It is an area of great concern to local authorities and road maintenance companies, but, until now, no cheap and reliable non-destructive testing solution has been available.

"This has meant that not only have weak lighting columns collapsed because dangerous corrosion wasn't detected, but many structurally sound lighting columns have been removed simply as a precautionary measure."

The system was developed in partnership with MB Inspection, which is based in Motherwell, Scotland.

Alex Stephen, business unit manager of MB Inspection, said: "Dinsley Devices and MB Inspection have created a product that the industry has needed for many years now.

"There is a major problem with lighting columns in the UK, and if they are not constantly monitored, there are distinct dangers.

"Insurance companies have also expressed strong wishes to see more thorough and regular checks as there is already a high number of recorded incidents, including one fatality."