A MALVERN company worried about the potentially devastating effects on its trade caused by the war in Afghanistan has seen an increase in business enquiries.

WordsWorth International, based in Christchurch Road, supplies safety, security and fibre-optic communications equipment to the Middle East and Africa.

Originally, the company was worried that the war would have a negative impact on its business, due to large infrastructure projects being put on hold.

But in reality, it has had the opposite effect, with an increase in enquiries for certain items, notably equipment and clothing to protect against anthrax and other chemical weapons.

The company, which deals in security items such as fire alarms and CCTV cameras, has also seen a considerable increase in enquiries for walk-through metal detectors.

However, company director, Victoria Floyer-Acland, said a lot of the company's business consisted of very long term projects, and it remained to be seen what would happen.

"If the war goes on for a long time, it may make an impact. Obviously we are very concerned about the situation," said Ms Floyer-Acland.

"We've recently seen an opening up of the region, with the British Government helping to promote links with formerly inaccessible countries such as Libya, for example.

"Naturally, anything that jeopardises these burgeoning markets is bad for WordsWorth."

She said many of the company's British associates working in the Arab world were leaving.

"They don't feel personally under threat at the present time but they are wary of getting stuck away from home if war spreads to other countries," said Ms Floyer-Acland, adding that building personal relationships and trust was an integral part of the business "in that part of the world".

However, the threat of losing its customer base in the Middle East has pushed the company into diversifying - something it had been planning to do for a while.

"We were thinking of diversifying anyway and this has given us a push," said Ms Floyer-Acland.

"We have just taken on the British distribution for a cutlery detector for use in restaurants, which unwittingly throw away hundreds of pounds worth of cutlery

"It was developed by a Dutch company, whose main line is metal detectors, but which identified a need for this product.

"The current situation has pushed us to diversify and look at other things we can do, which can only be good for the company."

The company employs up to 10 people, some of whom work abroad, and deals both with private companies and Governments carrying out large, infrastructure projects.

Formed in 1994, the family business originally sold medical equipment but diversified into areas where it identified a shortage of supply for cutting-edge communication equipment abroad.