COUNCIL chiefs in Worcester could be going all Star Trek to ease the city's congestion - by hovering SATELLITES in the sky to monitor drivers.

After years of growing concerns about tailbacks, Worcestershire County Council is exploring a rescue mission that sounds like a scene from a sci-fi movie.

Your Worcester News can reveal how the council has teamed up with experts who believe they may be able to crack traffic problems by developing world-leading satellite technology to record motorist behaviour - space research.

Bosses at County Hall recently went to Milton Keynes to link up with the UK's most innovative technology companies where ideas from 'driverless taxis' operated by robots, to the use of Twitter to warn people of hold-ups, were discussed.

Now they've taken it one step further by talking with a specialist manufacturer which creates so-called 'micro satellites', otherwise known as CubeSat.

There is hope the mini satellites, or something similar could be used to record live details on congestion data from the sky.

Bosses at the council say they hope the leap in technology, which was unimaginable a few years ago, would give them a radical weapon in knowing exactly where jams hit and when - possibly leading to a new phone App for the public giving people the best routes to take as the seconds tick by.

The highways department at the council, which has been under pressure for years to ease congestion, is also hunting for what it calls a "technology partner" to take the project further forward.

For the first time ever it raises the prospect of satellites being dotted around Worcestershire to record congestion.

The traditional ways to record traffic include static devices, which are often attached to lights, the use of mobile phones and Bluetooth, and even traffic surveys involving people with pens and clipboards, which is hated by many drivers.

But council chiefs say Worcestershire's often dodgy mobile phone signals can hamper their efforts, especially given the county's rural nature.

John Hobbs, the council's director for business, environment and community, said: "The use of technology to improve efficiency and customer service is something which Worcestershire Highways is keen to progress.

"Areas of particular focus include how we inspect the highway for defects such as potholes, traffic modelling and at the leading edge, the customer experience - particularly in relation to congestion."

He told your Worcester News the technology could potentially help "provide route advice before a regular journey had even started".

The move follows increasing concerns from councillors about Worcester's jams, with calls for new solutions.

Former Worcester mayor Councillor Pat Agar, who sits on the city and county councils, said: "We do need to be much more creative - in the future we can expect a lot more growth and a lot more congestion, but I fear solutions are some way off."