Scientists believe developing a hand database could help track down and convict child abusers.

Leading experts are appealing to the public to submit photographs of their hands in the hope of developing powerful new tools to help police and the Crown Prosecution Service identify criminals.

They aim to create a database of images which will allow computers to identify individuals by the features of the back of their hand, in the same way as is done with fingerprints.

Suspects have already been identified by matching features like the patterns of veins, tendons and freckles on their hands with those seen in images of abuse.

But the process is very slow, requiring close study of shocking images by scientists and police officers.

Forensic anthropologist Professor Dame Sue Black of Lancaster University believes it will be possible to develop computer algorithms to speed up the process of identification.

"A lot of the photographs we look at when it involves child abuse, it's the back of the hand we see, not the front of the hand," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"There are so many anatomical features in there that we've been able to use those to help the police in the past to compare images between suspects and offenders.