Former deputy headteacher Sion Jenkins could have stamped on his foster daughter's face after battering her to death, the Old Bailey has heard.

The 47-year-old lost his temper with Billie-Jo as she painted the patio doors at the family home in Hastings, it is claimed.

He is said to have hit the 13-year-old schoolgirl at least six times with an iron tent spike, resulting in fatal head injuries.

Two triangular marks were also found on her left cheek after her death on February 15, 1997.

And a scientific expert told the court yesterday they could have been caused by Jenkins' shoes.

John Birkett, of the Forensic Science Service, said: "I had a CD (rom) that had a range of images indicating the marks on her face.

"There were two roughly triangular components and other abrasions and areas of bruising."

Mr Birkett, an expert in footwear marks, went on: "I was presented with photos of the tread surfaces of Sion Jenkins' shoes.

"There are roughly triangular components in the shoes which are broadly similar to the marks on the face."

However, he admitted the tread on Jenkins' shoes had notches on them, while the marks on Billie-Jo's face did not.

But Mr Birkett added: "The absence of notches does not mean I could exclude them totally.

"Marks on the body are difficult to interpret. The skin can move and is yielding. There is often a large amount of distortion."

Mr Birkett said the marks left on Billie-Jo's skin definitely could not have been caused by contact with the tiles on the patio where she died, because they were different shapes.

Jenkins was convicted of murdering Billie-Jo at their home in Lower Park Road, Hastings, and jailed for life in 1998.

But he is now facing a retrial, which was ordered by the Court of Appeal.

The court has heard how he was worried about his false CV application for the headteacher's job at William Parker School in Hastings.

Jenkins claimed he got ten grade A O Levels from Gordonstoun College in Scotland when he had only a handful of C, D and E grades.

He also said he was qualified to teach English but only had a PGCE in PE from Nonnington College in Canterbury, Kent.

Jenkins has since married Christina Ferneyhough, 55, a divorcee and former school deputy headteacher.

Jenkins denies murder on February 15, 1997.

The trial continues.