A LANCASTER University academic has developed a way of detecting and pinpointing the source of pollution in bathing waters - thanks to studying the sea around Morecambe Bay.

Research by Dr Keith Jones (pictured) centres on a DNA-based finger-printing' method that isolates the source of E-coli the bug made famous by food poisoning outbreaks.

E-coli is found in the intestine of all warm-blooded animals and its presence indicates whether food or water have been contaminated with faecal material.

Until now it has not been possible to identify the animal responsible.

But Dr Jones and his team from the university's department of biological sciences have developed a technique to isolate the culprit.

His findings are reported in this month's issue of Microbiology Today, the quarterly magazine of the Society for General Micro-biology.

Dr Jones's technique gives each individual source of E-coli its own unique bar code which can be stored in a searchable computer library.

His research means that when beaches fail the EU directive on bathing water, pollutants can be isolated and compared with library strains with a view to tracking the source.

Says Dr Jones: "If you isolate E-coli from a contaminated environment it is possible to match the fingerprint with that from different animals in the library. This then tells you which animal sources are responsible."

E-coli has been used as an indicator of faecal pollution for more than 100 years and is enshrined in EU and World Health Organisation standards for safe limits in bathing water as well as drinking water and food.