AN academic from the University of York is to create a mummified body in the same way as the pharaohs of 3,000 years ago.

Dr Stephen Buckley, a chemist and research fellow at York University, has spent 19 years trying to uncover the preservation techniques which the Egyptians used during the 18th dynasty.

Alongside archaeologist Dr Jo Fletcher, Dr Buckley has studied mummified bodies, analysing tissue samples and finally putting his findings into practice by putting them to the test on former taxi driver Alan Billis.

The process is revealed in Mummifying Alan: Egypt’s Last Secret, is to be screened on Channel 4 on Monday.

Mr Billis had been terminally ill with cancer when he volunteered to undergo the procedure following his death.