Hunt for Lucan moves closer to final dead end

Trustees for the missing peer Lord Lucan, who is wanted for the murder of nanny Sandra Rivett and the attempted murder of his wife at their Belgravia home more than 20 years ago, have been given permission to realise the assets of part of his English estate as if he were dead.

Coutts and Co - the trustees of the estate settled on Richard John Bingham, the Seventh Earl, by his father, the Sixth Earl - has obtained permission from the Family Division of the High Court to wind up this father-to-son settlement which includes land in Surrey and Middlesex and a number of investments.

The letters of administration granted to Coutts value it at nearly £150,000 but it is not clear whether this is at 1974 prices - the year he disappeared - or at today's prices. Equally, this property may only be a portion of his English estates and does not include any property in Ireland.

Since his disappearance, there have been countless reported sightings of Lucan. His family and friends contend, however, that Lucan killed himself in the immediate aftermath of the nanny's death in November 1974. Scotland Yard keeps its file on the case open.