A local company is revolutionising the way that oil slicks are removed from the surface of the sea.

Transfer Surface Recovery Limited, TSRL, of East Molesey, has developed the Forsey-Pimm Liquid Separator and orders have already come in from Indonesia, Paraguay and Taiwan.

Gareth Pimm thought up the idea in 1990 while considering pollution caused by the tanker Exxon Valdez. He joined forces with Dick Forsey, who runs a manufacturing company.

They and Gareth's partner Helen developed the separator with financial support from the European commission and Mike Rigby, business adviser at Business Link Surrey.

The separator works on the same principle that keeps aeroplanes in the sky; a jet of water is forced up an incline from just below the surface; the jet carries the oil with it and the oil is collected in a container for disposal while the water is pumped round and used again.

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