A SMALL Bolton business is hoping to grow with the help of a £45,000 government "Smart" award.

Electrical engineer Gary Bowles and his wife Sarah established GSB Ltd two years ago at their home in Back Blackburn Road, Egerton.

It deals in automatic rising bollards to provide parking security at commercial and residential premises -- an idea which Mr Bowles, aged 41, has developed over the last year or so.

At the moment these devices, which use an innovative electro-mechanical drive, cost £4,000-plus.

The Smart Award from the Small Business Service will enable GSB to explore the feasibility of producing a cheaper, higher-specification Securapost product which would sell for about £1,500.

Metal poles -- mostly about three ft high -- would be activated by a remote control device such as a key fob.

He said: "We are fairly confident that when we get this into production we will shift some numbers."

Welsh-born Mr Bowles, who has been in Bolton since his marriage in 1989, hopes the product will sell overseas at some point.

"I think this is a market that is still developing," he said.

GSB Ltd was one of 57 North-west companies who took part in a special awards lunch at the Last Drop Hotel in Bolton..

More than 100 companies from the region received nearly £5.5 million during the 2001-02 financial year.