THE evil carers who murdered Inverkip teenager Margaret Fleming have both been jailed for a minimum 14 years.

Eddie Cairney and Avril Jones have just been sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow.

Cairney, 77, and Jones, 59, killed Margaret, who was 19, between December 1999 and January 2000.

Fraudster Jones then continued to claim £182,000 in benefits until it finally emerged Margaret was missing in October 2016, sparking a massive search.

Her body has never been found.

Lord Matthews told them: "Only you two know the truth. Only you know where her remains are."

During the sentencing hearing Thomas Ross QC, for Cairney, said his client maintained his innocence.

Mr Ross said: "Mr Cairney continues to deny any involvement in the crime and, so far as he is concerned, he maintains that, to his knowledge, Margaret is still alive."

Iain Duguid QC, for Jones, said his client also maintains her innocence and that she had stated that, as recent as their claimed last contact in October 2017, Margaret was still alive.

Cairney and Jones were found guilty of the murder last month after an eight week trial.