A chemist from the Hong Kong government has paid a fact-finding visit to Durham County Council.

Cheung Wong, a food and environmental hygiene analyst, visited the council's scientific services laboratory to discuss food testing and analysis.

His one-day visit, as a guest of the council's head of scientific services, Alan Richards, followed Internet contact between the two last winter.

Mr Richards said: "Cheung's work involves testing food complaints from consumers, which is one of the areas of work in which we are involved, and his search on the Internet for some information took him to our website.

"After exchanging a number of e-mails, it became clear he really wanted to visit our lab at County Hall and see the work we are doing, so he took the opportunity to come here on his way to an international conference in Warsaw.''

Mr Richards said: "Considering he represents the Hong Kong government laboratory, which employs more than 400 staff, it is quite a coup for us that he feels he has something to learn from our much smaller operation."