POLICE investigating the disappearance of Newport pensioner Marie Veronica Rey-nolds are still waiting to learn the identity of a woman's body discovered in Malpas on January 27.

And it is an anxious wait for family and friends of Mrs Reynolds - known as Veronica, who disappeared from her home just half a mile away, in Hollybush Avenue - as speculation grows that the body could be hers.

Tests revealed that the body was that of a woman just two days after it was found in a stream on private farmland.

But Inspector Paul Grif-fiths, of Bettws police section, said yesterday: "We are still trying to ascertain and confirm the identity of the body that was found in the Malpas area."

Neighbours of Mrs Rey-nolds said yesterday that the wait for news must be taking its toll on her family and friends. Tom Jukes, who lives opposite Mrs Reynolds' home, said: "I would like to see it solved one way or another.

"I just wonder why it's taking so long, unless they are looking for clues about how the woman died.

"But you can't criticise the police for wanting to make certain. It must be awful for her family."

Mrs Reynolds' next-door neighbour, Beryl Holmes, added: "I just wish we could get it cleared up really.

"If it is her, it's a long time for her to have been there and not been found. We haven't lived here that long, so it must be worse for those who knew her well. I should think the results will take a bit longer to come back yet."

The body is being examined by a Home Office pathologist at the University of Wales Hospital, Cardiff.

It was discovered in a stream which leads into the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, by the owner of the farmland, at about 2.30pm on January 27.

Police have said they are keeping an open mind about whether the discovery is linked to Mrs Reynolds' disappearance.