A British computer firm is considering using prisoners to help tackle the so-called millennium bug which threatens to cause many machines to crash at the turn of the century.

ICL says it is so worried not enough is being done to combat the problem it wants retired employees to return to work.

There are worries about giving criminals access to high-powered computers

As a result, the Prison Service has contacted the company about the possibility of suitably qualified inmates helping out.

The bug could cause computers worldwide to crash at the start of the year 2000 because computer clocks only read the last two years of the century, so they may confuse the year 2000 with the year 1900.

But a chief concern remains the prospect of allowing convicted criminals access to powerful computer systems containing sensitive information.

The Today programme asks Jane Burns of ICL to describe how the company was approached by the prison service (Dur: 2' 51")

Representatives from ICL are due to visit a prison in the next few weeks to assess the feasibility of the idea.

'Digital doomsday'

Meanwhile the Consumers' Association has urged people to check household appliances to ensure they will work past the year 2000.

It also recommends buying expensive goods by credit card for added insurance protection and advises keeping paper records of all bill payments in case computers fail.

An association report says problems caused by the millennium bug could be far greater than expected.

In tests, it found that fax machines, video recorders and watches may also become faulty.

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