Murder squad detectives were last night quizzing a man and a woman about the disappearance of a Bradford man a decade ago.

Alan Crabtree, then 41, vanished without trace in September 2000.

He was last seen drinking with friends at a house in Alice Street, Keighley, having travelled with a woman friend by bus from his home in Tong Street, Bradford, on September 13.

No body has ever been found but police are now treating Mr Crabtree’s disappearance as murder.

Yesterday, detectives in West Yorkshire Police’s Homicide and Major Enquiry Team travelled to Margate in Kent, where they arrested a 38-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman on suspicion of Mr Crabtree’s murder.

Detective Superintendent Dave Pervin, who is now leading the investigation, said it was believed both suspects had been living in Bradford or Keighley at the time Mr Crabtree disappeared.

Det Supt Pervin said his disappearance had remained a mystery for the last ten years.

He said there was no indication to the whereabouts of Mr Crabtree’s body, but the case was being treated as a murder inquiry.

“Looking at the facts of his disappearance – the length of time he has been missing and the fact that he has not been in contact with anybody – and you are drawn to the conclusion that he is dead, and probably was soon after, if not on, September 13, 2000,” Det Supt Pervin said.

He said Mr Crabtree’s mother, May, who is now in her 80s and living in Queensbury, is being kept aware of developments in the case.

“She has been waiting for answers for ten years. She believes her son is dead but has not been able to lay him to rest. She is hopeful that the latest arrests will bring her some answers.”

Det Supt Pervin said police were still appealing to anyone who has any information about the disappearance of Mr Crabtree – and particularly about him visiting an address in Alice Street, Keighley, in 2000 – to contact HMET on 0845 6060606, or by texting 07786 200805. They can also call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.