A DOG trained to look for bodies showed "some interest" in the boot of a car owned by a man accused of murder, a court has been told.

Jurors heard two cadaver police dogs were used to search the car of David Gilroy, the man accused of killing 38-year-old Suzanne Pilley.

A dog also found three areas of interest in the building where the missing bookkeeper worked, the court heard.

Gilroy, 49, denies murdering Ms Pilley on May 4, 2010, in Edinburgh, or elsewhere, hiding her body and driving with it in the boot of a car.

He also denies trying to cover up the alleged killing.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, Mark Heron, a senior scene examiner with the Scottish Police Services Authority, said a dog showed interest in the parking bays in the garage of Infrastructure Management, where Ms Pilley and Gilroy had worked.

However, defence QC Jack Davidson told the court no forensic link was found to connect items in the staircase, basement and the garage of the building to Gilroy.

Advocate depute Alex Prentice QC, prosecuting, showed the jury a computer-generated image of the office block in Thistle Street, Edinburgh, which Mr Heron said he first examined on May 9, 2010.

Mr Heron, 47, said one of the dogs "made its way around the garage sniffing" and paused at three areas. Jurors heard him describe two of the areas as being in parking bays and the other around a door.

The jury was then shown photos of Gilroy's silver car, impounded at a police garage. Mr Heron said he experienced a cleaning fluid or air freshener-type smell when he opened the boot. He then added: "The dog went into the boot and showed some interest."

Mr Davidson asked why the smell was not recorded by colleagues who examined the car days earlier. Mr Heron said: "I am 100% certain I could smell it."

Gilroy, of Edinburgh, denies all the charges against him. The trial continues.