Forensic software produced by Vogon in Bicester has been praised by police, writes Sarah Parker.

Vogon's GenX software is an indexing system that creates a map of all the data stored on a computer system, including hidden data such as deleted text in world files.

The system has been praised by Det Sgt John Ashley, of Greater Manchester Police, the former head of the force's computer examination unit.

He said: "The speed and detail offered by Vogon's forensic software suite has allowed us to process 2.7 terabytes of data in the past year that is the equivalent of 4,135 CDs. It has helped us to investigate hundreds of cases quickly and effectively. No other software on the market allows us to do this with the manpower resources we have available."

Vogon's forensic software has been used by the Greater Manchester Police unit to investigate more than 900 cases. The most recent high profile investigation was that involving Dr Harold Shipman, where the substantial number of falsely-created and altered medical records was the key to securing his conviction.

Det Sgt Ashley said: "Over the last ten years I have been actively involved in investigating computers used in crime and have used the majority of forensic computing software packages.

"I prefer Vogon's software because it is recognised as the leader in the field."