TRIALS of a radar system for mine detection developed in Malvern have officially been declared a success.

Scientists and technicians from the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency visited war-torn Kosovo last year to test a new type of radar operating from an airship - the Mineseeker project.

The results, show that even in its prototype form, the system can detect buried mines from the air.

Mineseeker, a collaboration between DERA and the Telford-based Lighthouse Group, uses an ultra wide band synthetic aperture radar, which was developed at the Malvern establishment.

The trials show the radar can detect a wide variety of mines and other ordnance, including all-plastic anti-personnel mines.

And it can find them not only on the surface, but hidden under foliage and buried beneath the ground.

Mike Kendrick, chairman of the Mineseeker Foundation, said: "These results give us the first tangible evidence of the radar's true capability. We have great confidence that Mineseeker will soon offer real value to the de-miner's tool kit.

"We are now in a good position to find the funding necessary to take the radar through the final steps of development to meet our target of deploying five operational airships to assist in uncovering the world's principal mined areas."

The Mineseeker Foundation has launched a campaign to raise £10 million to develop the technology and deploy the airships.

The project has the support of Nelson Mandela, his wife Graca Machel, HM Queen Noor of Jordan and Sir Richard Branson as patrons.

The airship offers a mobile, stable, low-vibration platform for the radar and is much more suitable than conventional aircraft or helicopters.