A WESTHOUGHTON couple who are helping the UK develop a cashless society have won an industry accolade.

David and Alison Rotheram triumphed in the Machine Intelligence category of the BT redcare innovations awards held in Whitehall, London.

The "vending Oscars" are open to all companies associated with vending.

Their business, Rotheram Technology in Cow Lees, has designed and implemented a credit/debit card solution for machines which sells items such as computer peripherals, books, luggage accessories, pregnancy test kits, CDs and DVDs.

Mr Rotheram, an expert electronics and computer designer, went into business with Alison -- a physiotherapist -- when he was made redundant from a Manchester vending company seven years ago.

The award followed 18 months' work on a credit/debit card system which has been fully authorised by the banks.

A customer wishing to purchase items from unattended machines inserts a card and waits while a modem calls up the bank automatically and gets verification that it is not fraudulent.

"This is brand new to vending and different applications are being developed all the time," Alison said today.

She said another recent development was the first credit card car wash in the UK at one of Sainsburys' North-west stores.

There had also been interest from another supermarket chain and they were talking to an Irish company about a swipe and go system for taxi cabs.

Rotheram Technology is also involved in a cashless system for school meals which is proving popular in some areas of the country.

And the design is also used in a credit card system for hospital patients which allows them to access the internet, telephone and television from their beds.

"It is the way of the future," Alison said. "We have had a lot of interest."