SCIENTISTS from Huddersfield University have invented a system which could revolutionise forensic science.

Prof Liam Blunt, Dr Xie Feng and Dr Shaojun Xiao, from the Centre For Precision Technologies, have designed ultra-accurate apparatus for tracing bullets.

The new technology uses precision microscopes and computer readers to scan patterns on the surface of a bullet. Each gun leaves its own mark on the bullets it fires from the rifling of the barrel. The pattern can then be matched to other bullets and guns.

So far all such work has been done manually by a small number of ballistic experts, which is time-consuming, costly and prone to human error.

But the new system is faster and much more accurate. It can even trace bullets from a Glock, an Austrian pistol which leaves very little trace.

With interest from police forces across the UK and Europe the centre hopes to set up a European database which will enable international co-operation in tracing gun criminals.

Prof Blunt and his team are hoping to patent their product and secure £750,000 from the British Government and the European Union.

At present the team has paid for the project themselves, with help from precision technology company Taylor Hobson.

But with grants they will be able to make and sell their devices to police. And the centre says its system will be cheaper than an America rival.

Prof Blunt said: “At the moment it’s all done manually. The guy who’s doing it has to get a bullet and match it to hundreds of samples. That takes ages and it’s prone to error. There’s only a handful of these people and they’re rushed off their feet.

“If a bullet is smashed to bits – as happens when it hits bone – it’s very hard to find where it’s come from.

“This technology is accurate to 10 nanometers and you don’t need anything like that to identify a bullet. It will make it faster and if it works out there will be a lot more scope for joint strategies and action.

“It will greatly decrease the time it takes to get cases to court and get sounder convictions.

“One of the biggest problems at the moment is recommissioned firearms, which are re-activated in back street workshops. Our system can pinpoint the workshops they’re from.

“It’s one of the most exciting developments we’ve done in a while and it’s nice to do a bit of direct good.”