HE was one of the region's most infamous sons, a murderous conspirator who nearly succeeded in wiping out the king and parliament in November 1605.

He was captured, tortured and put to death - and every year Guy Fawkes is still remembered through the annual Bonfire Night celebrations.

However, despite his position on the roster of notorious criminals, only sketchy details were known about the appearance of the York-born proto-terrorist - until now.

A commissioned portrait of the master plotter may be the most authentic image of him yet.

Artist Phil Game went to great pains to make his picture as historically accurate as possible, researching every available detail about the man.

"I could only find three previous images of Fawkes," he said.

"One was an old black and white cartoon of all the plotters and didn't give any real detail.

"The second was a painting in the National Gallery, showing Guy Fawkes being caught by the guards, more helpful towards a visual identity, and the third image was the well-known portrait owned by his old school, St Peters."

The latter depicts Fawkes as a wealthy nobleman with laced collar over a fine jacket, but Mr Game's research showed Fawkes was not a nobleman or of real standing, but a hardened soldier.

Experts at London's Victoria and Albert Museum advised Mr Game on the right clothing for the portrait.

"They told me Guy would have had somewhat common clothes as a mercenary soldier, with plain cotton cloth shirt and collars and probably a leather tunic," he said.

"I wanted to make his eyes like a tiger's. They're lit up from a lantern that sits on a barrel in front of him and if you look closely his eyes are actually orange."

Mr Game believes he has done justice to one of Britain's most infamous figures. "I've made him a little bit more likeable, more of a rogue or anti-hero," he said.

A Londoner living in Sweden, Mr Game was commissioned by David Hattersley, whose de Bretton Group owns the building in High Petergate, York, that is said to be Fawkes' birthplace. A reproduction of the painting features in the sign above the Guy Fawkes Inn, which opens in the building today.