LORRY drivers at a haulage and logistics firm near Worcester will be able to keep in touch with their wives and children despite being miles away from home.

Taylors of Martley has struck a deal with national telecoms company Contact One.

Communications will be easier for their drivers and office staff as well as it being more cost-effective for the firm.

Contact One has provided 130 Dolphin two-way radio units, which can also be used as mobile phones.

The units have a fixed cost every month and any additional calls made to people outside the company are paid for by the user and not the firm.

"It means that people can get in direct contact with the drivers without having to go through the switchboard," said haulage director Graham Taylor.

"If a driver's wife wants to call him so he can say goodnight to the children before they go to bed, she can get straight through to him.

"In the past she had to call the office who would relay the message on to him and the whole thing would become a Chinese whispers scenario."

The reduced administration would save the firm around £10,000 in staff costs previously taken up analysing phone bills.