Lawyers are working on an application to declare dead a Keighley barber who has been missing for more than seven years.

Turner & Wall solicitors of Keighley confirmed they were preparing to apply to court for leave to "swear to death" bull-fighting fan Malcolm Berry, who went missing from his Drill Street shop in Keighley in 1991.

The law permits an application to declare someone dead after there has been no trace of them for seven years.

Solicitor John Churchman said: "Speculation regarding Mr Berry's heirs is inappropriate as, in the eyes of the law, he is still alive.

"We hold Mr Berry's will, the contents of which are confidential until such time as his death has been recorded."

He said anyone who had information about Mr Berry's disappearance, or even his whereabouts, should come forward.

At the time Mr Berry left his flat above the shop in August 1991, bound for a holiday in Spain, he is believed to have had £150,000 stashed in the bank and a string of properties around the town. He never returned and has not been seen since, despite police appeals and searches in the UK and Spain.

His friend and business neighbour William Wilkinson, who runs a chiropody business in Drill Street and alerted police when he failed to return home, said: "I am still sad that Malcolm has never had the opportunity to retire and enjoy his money. It's a shame."

Spanish-speaking Mr Berry was 56 when he disappeared, leaving a note pinned to the shop door saying he would be back on August 27. The barbers, with its traditional candy striped sign, has remained unchanged since.

In the early days of the missing person investigation Keighley police gained entry to hunt for clues of his whereabouts. Detectives feared that because none of his banked money had been touched, he could be dead.

But officers were unable even to confirm he ever reached Spain or boarded a plane, although a sick joker sent a postcard to the shop saying he was having a lovely holiday in Scotland.

Neighbours at the time described him as a loner but friendly, who enjoyed holidaying in Spain. He used to entertain his customers with the ukulele.

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