A POST mortem examination on human remains found in a shallow grave at a house in a Kent town have failed to prove they are those of missing teenager Dinah McNicol.

However, police have been able to confirm that it is the body of a female.

Detectives conducting the investigation at Irvine Drive, Margate, say "it has not been possible at this stage to establish cause of death or anything more about the remains, such as age or time of death".

It is "too early" to say whether the remains are those of Miss McNicol,18, from Tillingham, Essex. She went missing in 1991 after leaving a music festival in Hampshire. Her bank card was used at several locations across the south coast including Margate.

A police spokesman said: "It may be some days before we are able to say formally whether it is Dinah or not.

"As well as the human remains some personal effects were discovered. We cannot be specific about these but various enquiries are now being made as these items are not consistent with the information we have about Dinah.

"Dinah’s family have been updated with this information, we are in continual contact with them and they have the support of a family liaison officer. Meanwhile, the searching continues both within the Margate house and the rear garden."

Det Supt Tim Wills said: "This type of investigation can be a frustratingly slow process, no more so than for the family of Dinah who are waiting to see if the work we are undertaking will bring them the answers they need."

Yesterday, it was found that electoral records show that the house at the centre of the investigation was once home to a man with the same name as a convicted sex killer.

Scotsman Peter Tobin, 61, was jailed in May this year for the brutal killing of 23-year-old Polish woman Angelika Kluk in Glagow in 2006.

Reports in the national media yesterday linked Tobin with the house but Essex Police have so far refused to confirm this.

However, the electoral register for Thanet shows that in 1991 a Peter Tobin lived at 50 Irvine Drive - the same house that forensic experts have been working at since Monday.

Anyone who has any information is asked to contact Stanway Major Investigation Team on 01206 762122 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.