North Yorkshire Police are trying to establish the identity of a man who’s skull was found off the north-east coast.

Whitby police were contacted by fishermen after they found the skull among their catch while trawling off the coast of Hartlepool.

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.

Inspector Tony Quinn of Scarborough Police said: “Forensic tests lead us to believe that the skull belongs to a man who died between the age of 20 and 50 and had been in the water for a minimum of 2-3 years, but could, if enclosed in a confined space, have been in the water for a number of decades.

“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.

“So far scientific tests and checks against missing person data-bases have not led us to the man’s identity.

“We hope that by releasing the images, someone may recognise the man and provide information which will help us identify him.“

If anyone believes that the man is their relative, please contact police on 0845 60 60 247 who will arrange for the necessary tests to be completed.