A COMPANY based on the outskirts of Romsey has shown it can stop MRSA and other deadly bugs in their tracks.

Talley Environmental Care already has strong links with the NHS through the special inflatable mattresses and beds it makes at its Premier Way base on the Abbey Park Industrial Estate for people with serious injuries.

Now it is aiming to play a key role in the fight against MRSA and has tested a special sanitising solution which has already proved successful in the airline industry. Following those tests, it believes it has struck the exact level of concentration to nullify the effect of the disease, which has been so damaging in Britain's hospitals.

Talley managing director Neil Manser first became interested in the battle against MRSA when his father Robert contracted the disease. He lost part of both feet and doctors were still fighting to save him from losing a leg this week.

Because of Robert's problems, Neil spent 18 months looking for a solution and that search came to what appears to be the perfect finale following tests on particular concentrations of the liquid used in the airline industry.

"We worked with the company that manufactured this product to ensure that we achieved the optimum concentration.

"It is so effective and we have brought it on board to decontaminate our own mattresses. There are a lot of fluids which destroy mattresses by making them brittle and bleaching out the colour, but this is so effective without doing the damage," said Neil.

Research published in the Health Care Estates Journal showed that the company's formula banishes harmful organisms on all surfaces and maintains ultra-low levels for up to four weeks

Talley is sending details of the product out to hospitals, NHS Trusts, nursing and care homes and GP surgeries and Neil Manser said: "We have received a lot of inquiries already."

Two of those inquiries have come from European governments while others have been from a cross section of medical care organisations around the UK.

He added: "At least 5,000 people a year are killed by hospital-acquired infections, with the actual number thought to be many times higher. Since my father's appalling experience, my single aim has been to ensure this terrible bug is eradicated as much as possible.

"I am delighted the evaluation proves conclusively that this technology can be used to help staff, doctors, nurses and cleaning staff achieve high standards which will safeguard these vulnerable groups."

More information is available on TECare at www.tecare.co.uk or from Talley on 01794 503565