A MALVERN firm that designed a material used in body armour will benefit from contracts worth £3.69 million.

Protexa was created by Lorica Research Ltd and is used by two companies in Leicester and Denmark to make protective vests.

Both have now landed contracts to supply a total of 8,200 vests to the Middle East.

Lorica's boss Digby Dyke said the company would receive 'substantial royalties' from the contracts, although he declined to say exactly how much this would be worth.

However, it means Lorica's development costs have been covered and that money will now be available for research into future products.

Mr Dyke said: "It's the culmination of nearly three years' hard work in getting this technology into use in a substantial way.

"There isn't an instant take-up, people have to be confident that the extra cost can be justified. The work we have been doing and the confidence we had in the technology is at last being recognised in a big way."

Efforts are now being concentrated on improving the technology to make it lighter and more protective.

"We've always got more ideas than we have money," said Mr Dyke. "This is going to help us recover money already spent and to start projects that we have been waiting to start. While we are working to defeat ballistic threats, there are people working to defeat body armour."

Protexa vests currently offer the best body protection available.

"These are vests that defeat fragments from exploding devices like mortars, grenades and small tank shells and also bullets from high velocity rifles," said Mr Dyke.

"We've saved 14 lives that we know of. That doesn't sound a lot, but that's 14 families who haven't had a bereavement."