Reports from Spain that a missing couple have been killed for their money are being treated with caution by police in north Wales.

It has been reported that Spanish detectives believe Linda O'Malley, 55, and her 42-year-old husband Anthony were murdered and their bodies disposed of in Benidorm.

I'm aware the Spanish police are treating it as a highly suspicious incident and murder can't be ruled out Detective Chief Inspector Nick Crabtree

However, the man leading the inquiry in Wales, Detective Chief Inspector Nick Crabtree said he has doubts about the claims.

"It's not something that the Spanish police are officially saying, although it was one of several theories about what could have happened to the couple.

"I'm aware the Spanish police are treating it as a highly suspicious incident and murder can't be ruled out," he said.

The Llangollen couple who come originally from Cheshire and Merseyside, flew from Manchester to Malaga on 30 August but they failed to appear for their return flight on September 13.

They have not been seen since and they have not contacted their families.

The pair had apparently been hoping to buy a home in Spain but on 23 September they failed to appear at the auction for the Villajoyosa holiday home they had been interested in.

The couple had stayed in Benidorm

The couple had planned a new life on the Spanish Costa, an area popular with British expatriates.

Mr O'Malley's brother Bernard and Mrs O'Malley's daughter, Nicola, have flown to Spain to try to help solve the disappearance, which is said to be a complete mystery.

And the case has been featured on the BBC's Crimewatch programme when Nicola made a direct appeal for her parents to get in touch.

North Wales Police continue to pursue the inquiry and Det Chief Insp Crabtree said the case is still open.

"We are running an incident room and feeding information to the Spanish police but there's nothing really new that's coming through.

"We met with the family last week to review the investigation."

Their disappearance has shocked Llangollen residents

He said the lack of news is particularly hard for the missing pair's daughters.

"It's the time of year that the couple would have wanted to spend with their family," he said.

The couple's joint account card was used for several days after they went missing and was eventually stopped by their bank.

It was used at various locations including hypermarkets and cashpoints and around �20,000 was spent.

Despite several sightings of their hire car and people thought to be the O'Malleys, no trace of them has been found.

A decomposed body was found in November alongside the A7 road in the Villajoyosa region of Benidorm during a grass cutting operation, but it was later ruled out of the inquiry.

Sources in Spain have told the BBC that the latest reports have come from officers not working directly on the O'Malley case.