A NEW radio system due to be used by police officers across Wiltshire by the end of the year is safe, according to its manufacturer and the officer responsible for its introduction.

The controversial system, called the Terrestrial Trunked Radio Network (TETRA), which is due to be switched on by the Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Avon and Somerset police forces later in the year, has been plagued by setbacks amid claims it is harmful to users' health.

Now the Government is to spend £5 million researching whether the system does indeed have any medical side effects.

The police federation has claimed TETRA has led to health problems for officers including deafness, migraines, sickness and body warming.

Lancashire Constabulary was chosen as the pilot force for the £3 billion project, which will eventually be rolled out across the 52 forces in England and Wales. Eleven forces have so far taken delivery of the system.

TETRA has been beset by teething troubles and the Home Office was forced into setting up an independent inquiry amid claims the handsets could affect users' health.

Claire Parker, spokeswoman for O2 Airwave, the company responsible for the system, said: "Airwave is not complacent about health and safety issues, though recent research evidence and the consensus of the scientific community indicate there is no adverse health impact from the use of TETRA technology. We know the introduction of Airwave is bringing significant public and police officer safety benefits."

TETRA is encoded to stop people listening in to police transmissions, gives greater coverage and can be linked to other emergency services. The Government is desperate for the new system to be a success given that the old analogue system has already been sold off to mobile phone companies.

Superintendent Nick Mitchell-Briggs, Airwave project manager for Wiltshire police, said: "There are a very small number of officers in Lancashire who are claiming to have suffered certain side effects since the introduction of the new TETRA radio.

"TETRA has been working operationally in Lancashire for well over 18-months and considered by the overwhelming majority of officers to be superior, more efficient and with better coverage, than the old radio scheme."