Scientists are hoping to bottle a scent reminiscent of the Edwardian era in time to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.

A leading perfume design house is working with perfume oils, rescued from the sunken liner, in a bid to have the fragrance ready by April next year.

They are also aiming to market a more modern scent, based on the essences which were found still intact in glass phials in the bowels of the liner.

The Titanic sank in April 1912 after hitting an iceberg near Newfoundland, with the loss of 1,513 people out of its 2,220 passengers and crew.

The essences were among artefacts to be brought to the surface by Graham Jessop, formerly of Keighley, recovery manager for RMS Titanic, the company responsible for the ship's preservation.

His colleague Dik Barton said: "We're hoping to have a scent which recalls the era when the vessel went down - the Edwardian era - in time for the 90th anniversary next year.

"We also want to produce a more modern perfume for Christmas - a perfume geared more towards younger women."

The work was extremely complex not only to develop the scents, but to make sure the glass phials and the leather satchel they were contained in, were properly preserved.

Linda Harman, press officer for perfume designers Quest International of Ashford, Kent, said: "We're not sure what the intention of the original owner was - whether they were finished products or oils from which he was to create fragrances.

"We eventually hope to encapsulate the whole romance of the era from which they came."

The satchel was originally owned by Adolphe Saalfeld, a German, who lost it as he jumped into a lifeboat containing women and children.

He had been travelling in first class hoping to make his fortune in New York.

But it is understood he destroyed his career by saving himself. The public took a dim view of men who survived in boats designated for women and children.