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Nelson leads way in graffiti busting
WORKERS at Pendle Council have an unusual way of cleaning graffiti - thanks to the invention of a Nelson man.
Ray Britner transformed himself from tree feller to inventor after an accident which left him with sight in just one eye.
The council now uses his most famous creation, a special blast cleaner named Doris, to clean graffiti from public places.
Coun. John David, Executive member for the environment, said: "Before Doris came along, removing graffiti was time-consuming and very labour intensive. Thanks to Ray, our workers can respond more quickly to reports of graffiti and make sure it's removed as quickly as it appeared."
Ray, who named his invention after his late mother, explained: "I was interested in the history of blast cleaning and realised many of the systems in place had health and safety issues.
"I set myself a challenge to come up with a system which was environmentally friendly and easy to use and in 1989, Doris was born.
"In between developing the system and getting it patented, my mother, Doris, passed away, so what better name to give it."
The Doris system is now used on a global scale and has even been recognised by the North West Regional Assembly and Envirolink North West for being environmentally friendly.
Ray said: "I'm constantly thinking of new inventions at my tiny workshop at my home in Nelson.
"I'm even writing a book, based on my own experiences, on how to avoid the pitfalls once a product has been patented."
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Weather for Pendle
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
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Temperature: 10 C to 22 C
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Temperature: 9 C to 20 C
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