Bernard O'Malley brother of Anthony and Linda O'Malley, who were murdered three years ago, while house-hunting on the Costa Blanca, has rejected claims that the killers may never be brought to trial.

It has been claimed the alleged murderers could go free because the Spanish legal system has a four-year time limit on bringing criminal cases to trial.

Two South Americans men were arrested in March 2003 following a routine check on a hire car which turned out to be the one the O'Malleys had been driving.

And Widnesian Bernard O'Malley, Anthony's brother, said he still expects the pair, Jorge Real Sierra and Antonio Velasquez Gonzalez, to stand trial.

He said: 'We expect the trial to go ahead certainly before the end of the year.

And the British Embassy in Madrid has confirmed the investigation is complete although no trial date has been set. Other reports say the judge investigating the case is about to order the trial.

Anthony, 42, a car salesman, and Linda, 55, a retail manager, disappeared in August 2002 after they flew to Spain in search of a holiday home. The alert was raised when they failed to turn up as arranged at Manchester Airport.

It was discovered that large, out-of-the-ordinary purchases were being made on the couple's credit cards and the blue Fiat Stylo they hired was missing. In desperation, Bernard O'Malley visited the region with a BBC documentary team, hoping to get to the bottom of the mystery.

At the time, he claimed the Spanish authorities were dragging their feet over the investigation.

Finally, the discovery of the hire car led police to a villa in Alcoy where the couple's bodies were found buried in a cellar.

Anthony had been suffocated and his wife strangled.

It is alleged the murderers had tortured Linda in order to force Anthony into making purchases and withdrawals on his card.