BLACKBURN with Darwen Council has awarded a major contract to supply computer software to a major Yorkshire-based company which also serves international firms such as AT&T, British Telecom, British Gas and Securicor.

The Total Visibility Management System from computer company Chevin allows computer experts to anticipate problems with the system at the council which has to serve all council users, including people at 250 sites away from the main town hall.

Council project leader for digital technology Martin Etherington said if the network goes down it could be "catastrophic."

He said: "E-mail and diary keeping are just two of the vital applications - if they aren't available it has a serious impact on the whole organisation."