THE carer of missing woman Margaret Fleming has been allowed to move back into the house at the centre of search.

Ms Fleming, 36, was reported missing person last year by Avril Jones, 56, and her partner Edward Cairney, 75, from her home in Main Road, Inverkip, Inverclyde, but the last independent sighting of her was actually at a family event on December 17, 1999.

Forensic teams had been sifting through the house Ms Fleming lived in for any documentation of her life over the past 18 years and the large garden at the property has been excavated in the search.

It was reported that Avril Jones returned to the house two weeks ago after police officially ended their six-month search of the grounds.

Officers set up an incident caravan at the house, which they used until the end of April, before moving back in for a day earlier this month to carry out further soil tests.

Police are refusing to rule out the possibility that something "sinister" happened to Ms Fleming, though it is still being treated as a missing person inquiry.

The soil samples from the garden have been sent to police laboratories to check for human DNA.

Officers have tried to contact every Margaret Fleming across the UK and the Channel Islands.

Helicopter teams, divers and dog units have combed the wider area, which lies on the Inverclyde coastline, without success.

Ms Fleming lived with her father Frederick in Port Glasgow until his death in 1995.

She then lived with her grandparents and mum Margaret until moving in with her carers in 1997.

A police spokeswoman said the property had been handed back.

She added: "We have concluded inquiries at the house and have stood down from the property.

"However, inquiries into the disappearance are still ongoing."