White men with an unusual Yorkshire surname have black African roots, according to a study that shows Britain's multiracial society dates back hundreds of years earlier than most people realise.

It underlines how the concept of race has no scientific meaning by revealing that a white "Caucasian" man in Leicester has a significant African genetic ancestry, along with a lot of other men with the same rare surname.

The research is the first genetic evidence of Africans having lived in Britain for much longer than thought, though those bearing the name are unaware of a link that has now been traced back to the Leeds area more than two centuries ago.