30 March 2012 Last updated at 01:05 ET By John Henry BBC News, Wetherby

Scientists working at the Forensic Science Service laboratories in West Yorkshire led the world in DNA profiling, the senior scientist at the site said.

The 150-strong team of experts at the lab off Audby Lane handled crucial evidence from a number of high-profile cases for police forces across the globe.

But 35 years after it opened and began using the cutting-edge forensic techniques that were the stuff of television dramas, its doors have shut for the last time.

Principal Forensic Scientist Tim Clayton said the closure would "lead to the loss of 1,000 years' experience".

Forensic work has been distributed to police forces and private sector providers because the Home Office said the service was economically unviable and incurred "huge losses".

The union Prospect said it was "deeply disappointed" by the closure.

Mr Clayton said that during a "purple patch" of a decade from the early 1990s most of the major DNA investigations across the world went through the laboratory.

He said: "This lab had, by historical accident, developed DNA technology that developed into the [DNA] database.

"From 1993 this lab had a world-leading role despite its minor geographical significance, leading the whole of the UK and international excellence in the field of DNA.

Originally posted here:
Wetherby to Waco - DNA lab's demise