Remains not those of missing Briton

Remains found in Australia are not those of Peter Falconio

Police in Australia say tests carried out on remains thought to have been those of missing British backpacker Peter Falconio belong to a large animal.

The remains were found by a tourist on Wednesday in a dam used to water livestock near the South Australia town of Marla, 250 miles south of Alice Springs.

Mr Falconio, 28, from Hepworth, West Yorkshire, disappeared on 14 July 2001 on a deserted highway in Northern Territory.

The former student at the University of Sussex, in Brighton, was travelling with his girlfriend Joanne Lees from Huddersfield when a gunman ambushed them after flagging down their camper van.

DNA evidence

Miss Lees was kidnapped but managed to escape.

After the remains were found near Marla they were taken to the state capital Adelaide for examination.

"The pathologist examined the remains and they were not human," a police spokesman told the Reuters news agency.

Last year, police stated that DNA evidence taken from blood on Miss Lees' clothing had linked 44-year-old Bradley John Murdoch to the death of Mr Falconio.

He remains in prison in South Australia on charges unrelated to the Falconio case.