URGENCE! Emergencia! Notfall! Emergency! Whatever their language people in danger are vulnerable.

Which is why an invention by a York man could end an emergency operator's worst nightmare.

It could put his company, formed in January, in line to win the New Business Of The Year in The Press Business Awards 2007.

A non-English speaker phoning 999 desperately pleads for help in an unidentifiable foreign language.

By the time the language is established and an interpreter found, it could be all too late.

But software, devised by Lattice Voice Technologies of York, which could save lives in just such an emergency, is being backed by investors to the tune of £150,000 and already two UK police forces arte co-operating in its development.

The system, called First Contact, communicates with the operator and the caller in their own languages.

Neil McCutcheon, 48, managing director of Lattice Voice Technologies, which employs four staff, is using money from the Yorkshire And Humber Equity Fund to refine and sell his software.

The software asks the caller in a number of languages to press the phone button when their mother tongue is identified.

The caller is then asked if they are in danger and what their immediate needs are.

It works on the principle of a scripted dialogue.

They have a script in different languages They are then given a number of options in their own language. For instance, if they want to report a child as missing.

The message is passed on to the operator in English. Questions arising are asked in the caller's language, using the same process.

Lattice Voice Technologies was founded by Neil with Bob Carnell, who set up and managed the BBC's online presence for three years; and Brian Stafford, a specialist in robust embedded system development.

Neil said: "The opportunities for the business are very substantial.

"The nature of the solutions makes them equally useful in international as well as domestic markets.

"Initially, we are being conservative about our prospects, with our business plan estimating turnover in year three to be in the region of a highly profitable £1.5 million.

"However, opportunities have already arisen to expand the market presence to China and the US."