Fault halts Large Hadron Collider

The world's biggest experiment - the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva - has been halted until next spring to allow engineers to investigate a fault.

A large amount of helium leaked into the tunnel on Friday, forcing the £3.6 billion particle accelerator to be shut down less than 10 days after the start of the project.

Scientists hope the Hadron Collider will unravel the secrets of the first moments of the universe-The European Organisationfor Nuclear Research, which is running the experiment, said an initial investigation suggested a faulty electrical connection between two of the accelerator's magnets could be to blame.

Director general Robert Aymar said: "I have no doubt that we will overcome this setback."