A husband and father-of-two was today found guilty of murdering his wife and stashing her remains in a metal tank in his backgarden for 23 years.

A jury in Melbourne, Australia, took a day and a half to find Frederick Boyle guilty of shooting his wife, Edwina, in the head with a shotgun.

The case brings an end the two decade struggle of Valerie Bordley, a charity shop manager from Watford, to find out what happened to her sister.

Valerie, who works in the Help the Aged shop, in St Albans Road, has spent thousands of pounds hiring private detectives and visiting mind-readers, since her sister disappeared in 1983.

She is currently in Australia for the trial.

Valerie began her long, often lonely, campaign for justice in October 1983, when Edwina suddenly disappeared.

Boyle had claimed his wife ran off with a truck driver named Ray.

However, he was charged with murder after Edwina's remains were found by her son-in-law in October 2006 in a wheelie bin in Boyle's backgarden.

During the trial Boyle admitted hiding Edwina's body in a 44-gallon drum in his garden, but said he a woken up in the morning to find his wife shot in the head.

He denied murdering Edwina.

Boyle will be sentenced in two weeks time.