Scientists at the University of Sussex have been given a £2.3 million grant to solve one of the biggest mysteries of the universe - why matter exists.

Researchers plan to make some of the most sensitive measurements ever undertaken of sub-atomic particles.

They hope, within six years, to have answers which might finally explain the creation of matter at the dawn of time.

Physicist Dr Philip Harris, who is leading the group, said: "With this new development, we are on the verge of a major breakthrough in our understanding of the very origin of matter in the universe."

For years scientists have been vexed by the question of why there is more matter in the universe than anti-matter.

Both were formed at the time of the Big Bang, about 13.7 billion years ago.

For every particle formed, an anti-particle would also have been created.

When matter and anti-matter meet they turn to energy in a blinding flash. At the start of the universe, equal numbers of both would have annihilated each other, leaving nothing but light.

But a tiny imbalance in the laws of nature allowed a little matter to be left over and become galaxies of stars.

The only way scientists can verify theories to explain this anomaly is to study the corresponding imbalance in sub-atomic particles.

It involves making incredibly sensitive measurements of a phenomenon called the electric dipole moment. This allows neutrons in the atom - particles with no electric charge - to behave a little like magnets with positive and negative poles.

The grant from the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council will allow the scientists to develop a 300,000-volt measuring device that stores neutrons.