A UNIVERSITY spin-out company has secured funding worth more than £800,000 to expand.

Durham Pipeline Technology, which designs and develops technology for the pipeline industry, has raised £389,000 and secured a further £450,000 from two regional venture capital funds.

The money will be used by the Gateshead company to build a range of bristle tractors, or crawlers, which can travel along pipelines and access areas for inspection and maintenance that were too difficult or expensive to reach.

The cash has come from North Star Equity Investors and the Coalfields Enterprise Fund.

Newcastle law firm Dickinson Dees provided all the legal advice to the company, Ward Hadaway handled all legal aspects of the deal for North Star, whileManchester-based Halliwells acted for Coalfields.