A link was set up with Teesside Crown Court after Jonathan Morrell became too infectious to travel.

A camera was fixed in his house and his picture beamed into the court as he answered questions on the telephone.

His evidence was then relayed into the courtroom.

Images of the courtroom were relayed to his own television set through a normal BT line.

'Critical' evidence

He gave evidence in the trial of James McManus, 33, who is accused of stealing money from the Northern Counties Trust charity and Cleveland County Council.

Judge Peter Fox announced details of the link at a seminar in London looking at ways of using new technology in the courtroom.

Judge Fox told leading lawyers and judges, including the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Bingham, and Lord Woolf, the Master of the Rolls, that the witness's evidence was critical to the case.

But he said if the defendant was convicted it could come under the scrutiny of the Court of Appeal.

Links common in US

If the UK follows the lead set by the US, examples of 'remote witnesses' could become a regular feature of courtrooms.

The Court of the Future seminar was told new technology could be put to other innovative uses, including the use of computers to generate animated reconstructions of real life crimes.

Lord Saville of Newdigate warned there was a danger cases would become a battle of who had the most sophisticated computer equipment.

He said: "There's plenty of evidence to demonstrate that images are far more persuasive than the written word and the danger is that those with the deepest pockets will be able to have the biggest effect.

"It's an area about which we will have to think very carefully. It's a real risk."