A RURAL business has started using robot technology to boost its productivity.

Kingsley Hollis Countryside Services has invested in a McConnel Robocut — the first on the Isle of Wight.

The remote controlled machine can cut through undergrowth on steep-sided and otherwise difficult to access or dangerous terrain.

It can be used on slopes of up to 55 degrees, with the operator up to 150 metres away, and is up to 25 times more productive than manual cutting.

Kingsley Hollis said: "It’s like Robot Wars meets Countryfile.

"A job that would have taken two people an entire day with strimmers is now completed on my own, in four hours, without having to pick up a strimmer — which means that saving can be passed onto the customer.

"It allows the business to increase productivity in difficult access working conditions. It also provides a more uniform finish.

"But the main thing about it is the safety — if you’re working on a slope in a tractor and it rolls over, you’re in big trouble, whereas with this, you’re standing well out of the way.

"First time I took it out, I was amazed at the results. Sending it through a patch of brambles, it cut it down like a hot knife through butter."

The company provides services including woodland management, scrub clearance, fencing, sheep shearing, hedge laying and field and paddock maintenance.

Kingsley has already used the Robocut at various jobs around the Island.

Sean Adams, West Wight area ranger for the National Trust, said: "We found the Robocut to be an excellent machine for steep slope work. It cut through all different materials — gorse, hawthorn, scrub, you name it."

Kingsley recently demonstrated the Robocut at the Royal Isle of Wight County Show.

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