THE claims which allowed Nat Fraser to get out of jail were probably wrong, appeal judges heard.

They were told yesterday that evidence concerning rings belonging to wife Arlene would be put forward as he tries to get his murder conviction overturned.

Arlene vanished from her Elgin home in 1998 and Fraser was found guilty of her murder in 2003, despite her body never being found.

He was freed a year ago to await the outcome of his appeal.

A date has now been set for the hearing after a dual inquiry into the handling of the matter by Grampian Police and the local procurator fiscal's office.

The Crown is set to try to discredit the story of police officers who said they had seen the rings in Arlene's Elgin home just hours after she vanished.

Evidence the rings disappeared with Arlene, 33, and re-appeared nine days later was vital in getting a jury to find Fraser guilty.

His defence team said police officers had later come forward with information which was at odds with what the trial heard.

Arlene's sister Carol Gillies from Erskine, said the family was "ready to go into battle" at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh in November.