A demolition order has been brought forward against the home of a vulnerable missing woman after it was condemned as "unfit for human habitation". 

The disappearance of Margaret Fleming sparked an international policesearch after she went missing from her seaside home ten months ago. 

She was first reported missing on October 28 last year from the house of her carers Edward Cairney, 75, and Avril Jones, 56, in Inverkip, Inverclyde. 

A massive search at the property, which is called Seacroft, lasted several months as part of the ongoing probe into Margaret's potentially "sinister" disappearance. 

The probe extended more than 500 metres into the River Clyde and also into a nearby woodland but her whereabouts remain a mystery. 

It is understood that her carers were given a six-week ultimatum on Monday to bring the crumbling cottage up to a "tolerable standard" or it will be demolished. 

A council source said that the order had nothing to do with the police search as the house was in a poor state before it even began. 

They said: "The demolition order makes it clear that the council considers the house to be unfit for human habitation. 

"If it remains in its current state and if persons are living within it then an evacuation order can be issued. 

"At that stage, the council may or may not decide to demolish it and recover the costs from the owners. 

"The demolition order is nothing whatsoever to do with the scope or the extent of the police search. 

"The house is an absolute state, and was before the police arrived." 

Margaret Fleming is believed to have learning difficulties and has not been seen independently since a family gathering on December 17 of 1999. 

Her carers have so far declined to issue a public appeal to help find her. 

Before Margaret started living with her carers, she had lived with her father Frederick in Port Glasgow until his death in 1995. 

She then lived with her grandparents and mother Margaret until moving in with her carers in 1997, 

Margaret is also believed to have attended John Watt College in Greenock between 1996 and 1998. 

She is described as around 5ft 5 inches in height with a heavy build, with collar length black hair and brown eyes. 

When last seen, she was wearing a green coloured tartan fleece or jumper, dark coloured jeans or trousers, wearing 'Karrimor' type boots which were dark in colour. 

Margaret is also believed to have learning difficulties. 

The investigation has seen police ask her extended family based in the USA and every single Margaret Fleming in the UK approached. 

Earlier this year Detective Chief Inspector Paul Livingstone who is leading the case, said that it would be foolish to rule out anything sinister having occurred. 

He said: "It would be foolish not to consider that something sinister has happened. 

"We cannot rule out the possibility that she has come into harm in some way. 

"By this, I mean that she could have had an accident, possibly wanted to be missing or even something more sinister." 

More than 1,700 people and agencies have been contacted as part of the effort to trace Margaret. 

Many statements have been taken by police as part of their intensive inquiry with her extended family in the United States even contacted. 

Officers also attempted to contact every Margaret Fleming across the United Kingdom and the Channel Islands.