A UK archiving firm is using an interesting tool to pitch its wares: mould.

According to backup hardware vendor Pinnacle, many Brits are losing their home movies to a new mould outbreak which is destroying VHS tapes.

The fungus, which appears as a fine white dust, destroying the ability to play back content.

The company is using the news to pitch its line of VHS-to-DVD backup devices and software, advising users to digitize their old television recordings and home movies rather than risk losing the tapes to mould.

"We all have those memories we want to hold on to, the memories that we want to be able to look back on whenever we can," proclaimed a company spokesman.

"But if you’re wanting to keep them safe and watchable, you’ll need to back up onto a digital format quickly."

The problem, however, may be more than just a marketing ploy. According to a recent report by the Guardian, a string of wet summers in the last three years has seen the levels of tape mould rise dramatcally.

The paper quoted one Scottish repairman as saying that restoration cases from tape mould infections have grown from one or two a year to as much as ten per cent of all restoration projects.

In addition to the option of digitizing content, tape owners are advised to store cassettes in a dark, dry location that is cool, but still heated in the winter.