A west Oxfordshire firm is bucking the gloomy economic climate by taking on new staff, mainly on the back of a contract to help keep Britain's railways in good condition.

Zetica, based at Hanborough Business Park, could help Network Rail save millions of pounds' spending on maintenance work by using a radar system, mounted on inspection trains, to monitor thousands of miles of track.

The on-train system will reduce the need to inspect track on foot, by pinpointing where the stone ballast supporting the sleepers and rail needs work to keep it safe.

The nationwide focus of the contract is another feather in the cap of the firm, which only a few months ago was involved in the discovery of a large unexploded bomb on the site of the 2012 London Olympics Park.

Managing director Mike Sainsbury said: "Part of our operation is mapping unexploded ordnance. We use ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and it's useful in site investigations, say, for the construction industry. You want to know if there are hazards, bombs, utility pipes and cables before you start digging holes.

"We do geophysical surveys and GPR is good for shallow depth work, which is how we became involved with Network Rail. The system shows where the ballast is thin or potholed and, therefore, needs maintenance.

"Also, it detects where it is thick and cuts out time and labour exploring the track.

"Perhaps millions of pounds spent on traditional checks was not necessary."

Zetica was set up in 1991 and moved to Long Hanborough from Witney last year. It now has 35 staff and, with the Network Rail contract, is taking on several more.

Mr Sainsbury added: "We will be taking them on in the next month or so. It's good news, because some of our clients and other businesses are struggling. We're not an enormous company, so just taking on a few more people is significant for us."