Sheep wool could be the key to making seaweed farming plastic free, according to experts.

Engineers from Queen’s University Belfast have been working on an innovative project for the last two years in a bid to drive forward sustainability in the industry.

They have been growing kelp, a large and fast-growing brown seaweed, on the wool of Whiteface sheep bred on Dartmoor, which is used to create degradable ropes, which the kelp is cultured on.

At the end of the growing period, the wool ropes, along with any residual seaweed biomass, can be processed into fertilisers, creating a fully circular solution.