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Enthusiastic followers of the adventures of Mr Sherlock Holmes, the consultant detective with rooms in Baker Street, have caused consternation with claims that the detective's methods could be brought to bear in solving real crimes.

Scotland Yard is not convinced. High ranking sources say the suggestion is 'bunkum more suited to gossips in the parlour than for debate among the professional constabulary'.

The Yarders have been criticised for failing to bring anyone to book for the ghastly murders in London's East End that appalled the nation, breeding fears that Jack the Ripper, the butcher of fallen women, may be still at large.

By contrast, Conan Doyle's detective combines a thorough understanding of the modern sciences, including chemistry, human anatomy and botany, with deductive reasoning to solve the most mysterious of crimes.

Mr Conan Doyle explains: 'By a man's finger-nails, by his coat-sleeve, by his trouser-knees, by the callosities of his forefinger and thumb - by each of these things a man's calling is plainly revealed.'

Holmes's champions insist police adopt a scientific - or forensic - approach, saying advances in medicine show finger smudges, human hair and even the study of blood can reveal vital clues to investigators.

Holmes's necromancy is best left to rot on the slab. Conan Doyle may well be a gifted writer of fiction but he knows nothing about the reality of policing our great country's ruffians.