Police have started digging in a remote area of the Argyll countryside in the hunt for the remains of a woman who was tortured and killed more than a decade ago.

Lynda Spence, 27, was murdered in 2011. Her killers were convicted but her remains have never been found.

Forensic officers began scouring an area near Dunoon, in March, in the search for her body.

Police Scotland said that a detailed assessment of the site has been completed and have began digging to search for further evidence.

Detective Superintendent Suzanne Chow said: “A detailed assessment of the location has been completed and we have now commenced digging to further explore the site for potential evidence.

“This will be an extremely detailed operation, involving specialist search teams from Police Scotland, forensic scientists and soil experts from across the United Kingdom.”

“The family of Lynda Spence are being kept updated as efforts to establish if her remains are within this area continue.

“I would ask anyone with information to please come forward and speak to officers.”

Colin Coats and Philip Wade were found guilty of abducting, torturing and murdering Ms Spence in 2013.

Prosecutors have not been able to determine how she was killed, but Coats boasted to a cellmate that he smothered her, cut off her head and burnt her remains in a furnace.

During the trial, the court heard that Ms Spence and Coats were involved in a land deal at Stansted Airport that had been organised by her.

She convinced a Glasgow printer to create fake Danish government bonds, which were supposedly worth millions, but were worth nothing at all.

Coats and Wade lured her from her flat in Glasgow and she was driven to a property in West Kilbride, North Ayrshire.

They taped her to a chair and tortured her on a daily basis for two weeks.

Coats was jailed for a minimum of 33 years while Wade was ordered to spend at least 30 years behind bars.

Lord Pentland said Coats was the “prime mover” behind the kidnapping and he was convinced of his “devious and cruel personality”.