Three rings belonging to a missing woman appeared in her home more than a week after she vanished, a murder trial has heard.

The engagement, wedding and eternity rings were found on a dowel in Arlene Fraser's bathroom.

Catherine McInnes, who is married to Mrs Fraser's father Hector McInnes, said everybody was shocked and surprised by the discovery she made nine days after Mrs Fraser vanished.

Mrs Fraser's estranged husband Nat was in the house at the time the rings were spotted, the High Court in Edinburgh heard.

Fraser, 53, is on trial accused of murdering his wife, who vanished from her home in Smith Street, New Elgin, Moray, on Tuesday April 28 1998. He denies the charges against him.

Mrs McInnes told the trial she searched Mrs Fraser's home in the days after her disappearance in a hunt for clues about what could have happened to the missing mother-of-two.

At that stage, she did not see the wedding, engagement and eternity rings in the house and agreed that, if she had spotted them, she would have viewed the find as significant.

Mrs McInnes told the court: "I would have given them to police because they were expensive."

The witness also said she took on responsibility for cleaning the bathroom, which was used regularly, and had not seen the rings on those occasions.

Prosecutor Alex Prentice QC asked whether something had occurred on Thursday May 7 that year.

Mrs McInnes said: "I went into the bathroom to use the toilet and wash my hands afterwards, and I noticed jewellery on the dowel."

She agreed there were three ladies' rings and said they belonged to Mrs Fraser.

Mr Prentice asked: "The rings you found in the bathroom, had they been there prior to you finding them that day?"

"No," replied the witness, adding that they were on the peg under the soap dish.

"They were obvious when I stood at the sink," she said, adding that it was not the sort of thing she could have missed.

Mrs McInnes said she initially removed the rings before telling Mrs Fraser's stepfather Bill Thompson about her discovery.

She said Nat Fraser was in the house, upstairs, at the time.

Asked about the reaction of others to the discovery, she said: "Everybody was just shocked and surprised."

The trial continues.