A BLACKBURN accountant turned sleuth to help an inventor win a legal battle.

John Green, a forensic accountant and partner in Pierce Chartered Accountants, of Blackburn, was instructed by solicitors acting for a Manchester man who invented an indicator which allows lorry and bus drivers to check that wheel nuts are not loose at the start of a journey.

The inventor and the company selling the device ended up in dispute and Mr Green was called in to undertake a detailed forensic analysis of the business records of the company involved. The inventor has since secured a substantial out of court settlement and a costs order against the company.

" Our calculations were typical of the work we undertake to assist solicitors in matters of commercial litigation," said Mr Green.