DETECTIVES investigating the murder of 80-year-old Jenny Methven will meet today amid concerns that there has been no "vital breakthrough" in the case – despite high profile pleas for information.

Several officers from Tayside Police will gather to discuss progress in the case, which has been described as one of the biggest in the force's history.

Mrs Methven was attacked in her cottage in Forteviot, Perthshire, on February 20.

She was found slumped over her kitchen table by her 57-year-old son David.

However, despite an intensive investigation, it has been revealed that senior officials are already preparing for the possibility that the case is likely to take months, rather than days, to solve.

A source said: "We are working with a wealth of information which has been provided to us by the public, but the single breakthrough piece of the jigsaw has not shown itself yet.

"It is already beginning to look like there is not going to be a quick arrest and that it is far more likely to be a long, drawn out process. "

Detective Chief Inspector Colin Gall, who is leading the investigation, said: "It is fair to say that this is one of the biggest enquiries ever seen in Tayside."

The meeting comes as it was revealed that a painstaking forensic search of the cottage had uncovered 400 items of potential interest to the investigation.

The search of the property has been going on for more than a week and the hundreds of productions will now be subject to laboratory analysis.

Almost 80 officers have been dedicated to the investigation.

Support has also been provided by the National Policing Improvement Agency, biologists, pathologists and the Scottish Police Services Authority.