An expert in facial mapping and reconstruction, whose work has featured on the BBC Crimewatch programme, told a jury yesterday about similarities between an arson suspect and the man caught on film trying to start a fire at the Manningham Ward Labour Club.

Professor Peter Vanezis, who is now the head of a new department of forensic medical sciences in London, told Bradford Crown Court that he had dealt with about 700 cases involving facial identification and had done work reconstructing faces from skeletal remains.

Yesterday he showed the jury a series of video clips which, he said, indicated similarities between the faces of Mohammed Ilyas and the would-be fire-starter.

Mr Vanezis said he had carried out a "morphological analysis'' of the images, which involved comparing features of the face such as the nose, eye-brows and mouth, but stressed it had not included any kind of measurement.

As well as seeing comparison photographs side by side Professor Vanezis also used video technology to super-impose images on top of each other to highlight similarities.

He pointed out matching areas around the mouth and eyebrows as well as the nose and jaw line.

Asked by prosecutor Alistair MacDonald QC whether there were any dissimilarities between the two faces, he said no. In one image the alleged arsonist is seen without his distinctive curly Afro-style wig and Professor Vanezis said the man had a similar receding hairline to Ilyas's.

Ilyas, 48, of Prospect Road, Wapping, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of arson with intent to endanger the lives of 23 people. He has also denied an alternative allegation of arson being reckless as to whether their lives would be endangered.

Ilyas' barrister, Michael Gledhill QC, questioned the professor about the fact that facial mapping was a relatively new field and he conceded that the quality of the video footage he could use for comparison was poor. The professor also agreed that the lighting and distance between cameraman and subject could also cause problems.

The trial continues.