CLOTHING seized from the homes of four different suspects had fibres apparently matching Stephen Lawrence's red polo shirt, the Old Bailey heard today.

Fibres similar to those from the dead teenager's shirt were found on the jacket of defendant Gary Dobson, co-accused David Norris's sweatshirt and also on items taken from the home of Jamie and Neil Acourt back in 1993, jurors heard.

Angela Gallop, who in 1995 had tested the exhibits ahead of a private prosecution brought by the Lawrence family, organised the 2007 cold case review which made the findings.

The examinations, carried out by forensic organisation LGC, went further than previous tests, using new techniques and also examining any debris in evidence bags.

Ms Gallop told the court they were interested in shoe marks, DNA from blood or saliva from any shouting or spitting along with fibres and hairs.

They began by looking for traces of paint from a scaffold pole at the scene on tapings - samples of fibres - taken from Mr Lawrence's black LA Raiders jacket.

Ms Gallop said: "We noticed, looking at the tapings of Stephen lawrence's clothing, that there were a lot of red fibres on them.

"We wondered about where those might have come from and we soon realised that the majority of them could have come from his red polo shirt."

She said: "We thought if they were on his outer clothing that they might therefore be a source of fibres that we could look for on the suspects' clothing."

The jury was told, after several matching fibres were found on the suspects' items, forensic scientists began to look for other links to Mr Lawrence's clothing.

Their findings included fibres from the teenager's jacket on tapings of Dobson's clothing.

From Norris's sweatshirt there were also six green and blue fibres matching the victim's corduroy trousers, the court heard.

Examination of debris in an evidence bag from the Dobson jacket found fragments of blood, including one with two fibres matching Mr Lawrence's cardigan embedded in it.

And a further in-depth examination of the Dobson jacket using a microscope uncovered a tiny bloodstain on the collar.

Along with this, an examination of the evidence bag containing Norris's jeans unearthered a fragment of hair matching Mr Lawrence's.

The prosecution claims this new evidence proves Dobson, aged 36, and Norris, aged 35, both of south London, murdered Mr Lawrence in a racist 1993 attack in Well Hall Road, Eltham.

Earlier this morning scientist Adrian Wain said concerns he reportedly expressed in 1999 and 2001 about possible contamination of the evidence had been meant in a "general" sense only.

Dobson and Norris deny murder, saying the case exhibits have been contaminated.

The trial continues.