Oxford University researchers have created new technology which it is hoped will help alleviate water shortages in East Africa.

They are to begin a pilot project to install devices which transmit messages that a pump has broken.

A spokesman said hand pumps provide most drinking water for rural communities, but about a third do not work at any one time.

These can take up to a month to get fixed, leaving shortages, he said.

The unique devices will send a text message to Kenyan water managers to notify them of a problem.

Researcher Patrick Thomson said: “The transmitter is no bigger than a mobile phone and fits inside the hand pump.

“It automatically registers the movement of the handle of the pump and from this calculates the amount of water extracted from the pump.”

The pilot will involve 70 village hand pumps in the Kyuso District of Kenya.

Funding has come from the Government’s Department of International Development.

International development secretary Andrew Mitchell MP said: “This is a fantastic example of British innovation helping some of the poorest people.”