BED bugs are in demand at Britain's biggest bed company, Silentnight.

The Barnoldswick-based company want people from all over the country to send in their old pillows - in the name of research.

They want to weigh in the dust mites and droppings that accumulate on pillows in a bid to find which type is best to keep the levels down.

They say as much as 20 per cent of the weight of a pillow can be made up of the mites which munch away at the place we rest our weary heads.

And they reckon that with the help of people willing to volunteer their pillows they will be able to tell customers whether they should be buying feather, foam, or even hypo-allergenic pillows if they want to lessen the risks of the mites triggering asthma, eczema and allergic rhinitis.

"We don't want freshly washed pillows," said Silentnight spokesman, Richard Hallewell.

"The idea is to weigh the amount of dust mites and their droppings which accumulate in a pillow after it has been used for a year or so."

He added: "Research shows that the modern home and especially the bedroom, is a major cause of asthma because it provides a breeding ground for dust mites.

"The problem is that there are a lot of products around which claim to deal with the problem but which may not be effective. This way we hope to shed some light on the whole question."

Silentnight is promising a bedroom boost for the person providing the most mite and dropping laden pillow in the country - a prize of a complete bedding system.

Anyone interested should contact researchers on 0161 366 6116.

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