A state-of-the-art explosive testing facility in Cumbria now has a sister site in the north east.

DNV GL has bought a site in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, which the Norwegian firm has said will complement and its research and testing capability at RAF Spadeadam in Cumbria.

Gary Tomlin, the company's vice president for safety and risk in the UK, will manage both sites.

He said: “The research and testing site at Bishop Auckland is unique. It has a long history serving the gas industry and primarily does work for the distribution and transmission networks. The facility has now been expanded to serve the offshore sector and we have onsite the only vertical test rig for subsea safety valves in the world.

"This means a test can be carried out on valves to simulate operational conditions several hundred metres below the seabed.”

The Bishop Auckland test facility boasts one of the largest high-pressure natural gas test capabilities in the world, meaning a wide range of component tested there.

In Cumbria, the Spadeadam centre carries out large hazard tests, including flammable gas, fires, explosions, pipeline fracture tests, blast and product testing at the site, which is the largest of its kind in the UK.

Hari Vamadevan, the regional manager for the UK, said: “The two facilities relate so well to one another, it makes perfect sense to consolidate these world class sites and operate them as one unit. The plan is to make these assets the focal point of research in the UK, where we can capitalise on the many joint industry projects we undertake every year.”