GLYN Razzell has been denied leave to appeal against his conviction last November for murdering his estranged wife Linda.

But he has renewed his application and will learn at a later date whether it is successful.

Razzell, 44, is serving a life sentence for the murder of Linda, 41, of whom no trace has been found since she left her home in Highworth on March 19, 2002, and failed to turn up for work at Swindon College.

Her four children have been cared for by relatives in Wales ever since.

At the time of her disappearance, Linda and her estranged husband had been in the middle of complicated divorce proceedings.

Razzell's solicitor Rob Ross said: "My client is forthright in maintaining his innocence."

In the first stage of the appeal process, papers relating to the case were considered by a judge, Mr Justice Poole, who had to decide whether the case shouldbe referred to the court of appeal.

Mr Justice Poole has decided that leave to appeal should not be granted.

However, Mr Ross explained, the application for leave to appeal was renewed and would be considered by the Court of Appeal itself.

If the appeal judges decide leave should be granted, thereby overturning the decision of Mr Justice Poole, the way will be paved for a full Court of Appeal hearing of the case, which Razzell is hoping will see his conviction quashed.

Razzell has always insisted, including in communications to the Evening Advertiser, that Linda, whose bank accounts and passports remain untouched, is alive and well and living in an unknown location.

Supporters have launched a website, proclaiming Razzell's innocence and appealing for people to come forward with sightings of Linda.

On the second anniversary of her disappearance a week ago yesterday, Linda's children announced that they planned to set up a charitable trust to help victims of domestic abuse in Third World countries.

Julie Westmore, Linda's cousin and now surrogate mother to the children, said last week: "Linda was so kind, thoughtful and had no nastiness, so this would be a memorial to last forever.

"Memorials don't have to be graves."

Det Chf Insp Paul Granger of Swindon police who led the murder investigation, said: "All I can say is that it is a normal judicial process, that the investigation is concluded, and that we will just have to wait for the process to go through the Court of Appeal."