DETECTIVES have turned to the world of science in a new effort to identify a skull trawled from the North Sea.

With the help of a forensic anthropologist, a facial reconstruction has been produced - and police hope that someone may recognise the man from the digital images.

The skull was found in the net of the Whitby-based trawler Christina as its crew bottom-trawled some 180ft down about ten miles off Hartlepool in February last year.

Forensic tests have since revealed that the skull belonged to a man aged between 20 and 50.

He had been in the water for a minimum of two to three years but could, if enclosed in a confined space, have been in the water for a number of decades.

Inspector Tony Quinn said: "It is believed the man was European, most probably with North-west European ancestry.

"A distinctive feature of the man’s teeth is that he was missing his left front tooth during life. This could have been due to trauma or a congenital absence of the tooth.

"Unless corrected by a dental prosthesis, the missing tooth would have made the man’s face look asymmetric."

However so far the scientific tests and checks against missing person data-bases have not led police to the man’s identity, which remains a mystery.

"We hope that by releasing the images, someone may recognise the man and provide information which will help us identify him," said Inspector Quinn If anyone believes that the man is their relative or someone they knew, they should North Yorkshire police on 0845 6060 247.