The company behind a machine which helps prevent birds flying into aeroplanes is on the brink of securing several new export deals.

Scarecrow Bio-Acoustic Systems, based in Uckfield, expects a substantial order from Italy and is in talks with distributors in Thailand and India.

The companys bird dispersal management systems broadcast a range of bird distress calls which scare birds away from airfields.

The products were showcased at the Farnborough Air Show last month and have been attracting interest from abroad ever since.

The first designs date back to 1984 when Gatwick was looking for an alternative to tape recordings which were unreliable.

Scarecrow developed a digital system which stored the bird calls on a computer chip, gave a cleaner sound and was less prone to mechanical failure.

The device looks like a car radio and transmits through loudspeakers. It is attached to vehicles which circle the airfield perimeter.

Collisions with birds in the critical periods when an aircraft is taking off or landing are one of the greatest threats to safety.

In 1996, 32 people were killed when 600 starlings and lapwings flew into the engines of a Hercules, causing it to crash at Eindhoven.

Scarecrows customers include the British Airports Authority, British Aerospace, the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force and the UK Civil Aviation Authority.

Its bird scare systems are also used at shopping centres, marinas, ports and docks, landfill sites and public buildings where birds may cause a nuisance.

Tony Walker, chief executive of Scarecrow, said: Farnborough was extremely successful for us and UK Trade & investment is a big part of that success.

Our international trade adviser helped us forge new links in the international airports industry and Im sure that we will reap the additional rewards of our Farnborough Air Show participation in the near future.

Stephen Myatt, South-East international trade adviser for Aerospace at UK Trade & Investment, has been working with Scarecrow.

UK Trade & Investment, the Government agency which helps British companies trade overseas, helped broker the deals.

He said: Scarecrow is an excellent example of an inventive British company which has the potential to flourish overseas. They should be congratulated for taking the plunge and being involved in a huge event like Farnborough.

This shows a company which is prepared to make a big investment in time and effort to drive international success. Ive no doubt that its efforts will be rewarded in the future.

Last year, a jumbo jet was forced to make an emergency landing in Los Angeles after a bird flew into an engine.

On Christmas Eve 2002, a 17-seat aircraft crashed into a car 200yds beyond Aberdeen airport runway after hitting a flock of birds.