Fletcher Christian, leader of the mutiny on The Bounty, may have unwittingly spread a disease similar to Parkinson's across the world, a North-East scientist claims.

The first mate, who led a breakaway band of sailors and a group of Tahitians to set up a colony on Pitcairn Island, has been linked to a newly-discovered disease which affects people's coordination.

Professor John Burn, of Newcastle University's Institute of Human Genetics, identified a fault in the genes of affected members of a Cumbrian family, which he has been studying for over 15 years.

The research team, which has named the new disease neuroferrit inopathy, now plans to develop drugs to treat it.

But it is the possible link to Christian that will spark great interest for historians.

Christian was born in Cockermouth, North Cumbria, in 1764.

Prof Burn traced families carrying the gene defect back before 1792 to a man by the name of Fletcher and, in turn, discovered a link to Fletcher Christian's mother's family.

Prof Burn said: ''A member of the Fletcher clan carried this gene at the time when Fletcher Christian was born and living in Cumbria.

''It is quite likely that sailors who emigrated from North Cumbria, where this began, will have carried the gene and spread it to the four corners of the globe.

''The big question now is whether Fletcher Christian carried this disease to the Pacific islands where he eventually set up home."