Wee drams are being used to clean contaminated ground and waste water in a pioneering new technique championed at Aberdeen University.

The innovative method involves using a by-product of Glenfiddich whisky as part of a new cleaning device to clear up pollution on blighted development land.

Experts say the discovery has "massive potential" for industry and could be worth millions of pounds.

Until now there has been no single solution for the treatment of contaminated groundwater as different pollutants require different clean-up methods that are costly.

The university says the new method is "far quicker and more cost effective" than current clean-up techniques.

Groundwater contamination can hold up or even prevent land development as well as being a hazard to health and the environment, the university experts say.

Dram - Device for the Remediation and Attenuation of Multiple pollutants - using the whisky by-product is said by university academics and researchers to be the first process that removes multiple pollutants simultaneously.

World-renowned Speyside distillery Glenfiddich has helped researchers get to this stage of development by donating a whisky by-product, the identity of which is being kept under wraps, for use in the novel technology.

The Aberdeen University researchers - Dr Graeme Paton, Professor Ken Killham and Dr Leigh Cassidy - are considering forming a spin-out company to produce the technology.

Dr Paton, a leading soil toxicologist, said: "This is a genuine Scottish invention using traditional Scottish produce but has the capability of being applied to a significant global market."

The anti-pollution device is being unveiled today at the university's Innovate with Aberdeen - Frontiers of Excellence event in Edinburgh.

Pre-field trials of Dram conducted in the west coast of Scotland have shown a 99.96% success rate. Field trials are now about to begin in Glasgow.