Police dig up garden of tycoon nine years after wife vanished

Martin Hale, 51, a fruit and vegetable wholesaler, was held at his £750,000 home in Thames Ditton, Surrey.

The new lead in the case of Maureen Hale, who vanished in June 1999, is believed to be linked to an alleged mortgage fraud.

It is thought Mr Hale remortgaged their home, filling out an application form using his wife's name. The company director was being questioned today on suspicion of murder and mortgage fraud.

He has always claimed his wife walked out of the family home at 10pm on 22 June 1999 without saying where she was going or when she would be back.

Mrs Hale, who was 42, has not been seen since and her bank account and passport have not been used. Police have long suspected the mother of five was murdered.

Forensic science officers today took photographs of the inside of the garage at the detached fourbedroom home and taped off a wide area around it.

Detective Chief Inspector Colin Sutton, who is leading the investigation, said: "Maureen Hale disappeared very suddenly nine years ago. Since that time there has been no contact with her family or any of her friends. Such a disappearance was entirely out of character for her, especially as she left behind four young children at home. We have always thought it was hard to imagine she would simply walk out and leave them."

One line of investigation centred on a statement from the manager of a pet crematorium, who said a member of the public asked about hiring it around the time of Mrs Hale's disappearance. She had just come back from holiday in Greece and had made plans to take her children to a concert.

But police said Mrs Hale and her husband had been having relationship troubles and she had an appointment to see a divorce solicitor, due to take place two days after she vanished.

Mr Hale, who runs Southallbased fruit wholesaler Hales & Co, was initially arrested in July 1999 in connection with his wife's disappearance but was released without charge.