A Keighley company is set to battle a killer disease.

Brookworth Environmental Services has launched a new sanitising division dedicated to combating Legionnaire's Disease.

Steven Brookes, chief executive of BES, said: "Legionnaire's Disease has hit the headlines again of late, yet there are many misconceptions about exactly how and why it can be contracted.

"The stark fact is that anyone can contract it - anywhere.

"While cooling towers remain the main culprits in the spread of Legionnaire's Disease, health and safety regulations governing their usage are so strict nowadays that incidents should in reality be few and far between."

Mr Brookes said that what many people did not realise and could easily overlook was the fact that the second most common way of getting the disease was by simply being in the vicinity of a shower.

"It's inhaling the contaminated aerosol spray from showers that spreads Legionnaire's," he added.

"You can only get it by breathing it and the main areas of concern surround showers that are infrequently used - for example, company emergency and medical room showers, along with showers in sports clubs.

"Showers that are left unused over periods of time, such as weekends, bank holidays or shutdowns or when sports teams play away from home, are potential breeding grounds for Legionnaire's Disease.

"Cleaning showers is just not enough. Showerheads need to be regularly sanitised, along with other danger areas such as spray taps, hoses, comfort cooling units and some air conditioning units."

Brookworth has already signed contracts with the South Yorkshire Ambulance Services and Lancashire Fire and Rescue at stations across the two counties.

BES is part of the Brookworth Group of companies, founded in Keighley in 1988.

The group's flagship firm is Ashdown-Brookworth, which undertakes building energy management, heating, air conditioning and ventilation work for many leading names in UK industry.

Mr Brookes added: "The group continues to experience year-on-year growth and our success in part can be put been down to identifying and filling gaps in niche markets.

"The market potential for developing our environmental services division in particular is huge."