THE husband of Evelyn Lund today spoke for the first time since a woman's body was found in his wife's car in a lake close to his French home to insist: "I have committed no crime."

And in an exclusive interview Robert Lund also complained that police had waited three days before telling him of the gruesome find and protested: "Nobody is telling me anything. I can't even start to grieve."

Mr Lund has not spoke publicly since his wife's red Toyota Landcruiser was fished from the lake early last month.

French police have confirmed the vehicle was the one that Evelyn was driving when she went missing in December 1999.

A badly decomposed body was found on the back seat, which public prosecutor Daniele Drouy-Ayral said was almost certainly Evelyn.

The results of DNA tests which should confirm the identity are expected to be released tomorrow.

Robert, Evelyn's second husband, moved with her to France in 1996 two years after they were married. He said French police had kept him in the dark about developments in the case and said he was no longer in contact with Evelyn's family, who still live in Blackburn.

Patricia Taylor, of Franklin Road, Witton, has previously blamed Robert for her mum's disappearance.

Speaking from the remote farmhouse, which he shared with Evelyn, in La Vaute, 49-year-old Mr Lund said: "Nobody is telling me anything here. Nothing at all.

"I knew the gendarmes were doing DNA tests but I was told it would take three or four days. It has been more than a fortnight."

Mr Lund, a former tree officer for Blackburn with Darwen Council, said he knew the Bancalie lake -- around 15 miles from his home -- but has not been there.

He said he had not visited the site since her car was found.

He said he had not been called to identify the car or been questioned since the find.

And he said French authorities only told him of the discovery as the French media got hold of the story.

He said: "They told me three days later and the gendarmes that came to the house actually said to me they were only telling me now because it would be on the news that night.

"Nobody has spoken to me. I am no wiser now about Evelyn than I was two years ago."

Mr Lund, who has been supported by his own family through the ordeal, said it was a "big shock" to be told of the discovery. He admitted he was seen as the main suspect.

He said: "It was a big shock when they told me, I was always sure that Evelyn would come back.

"Having said that we still don't know it is her. I can't even start to grieve unless somebody tells me something.

"I have always been questioned because I am the person closest to Evelyn but of course I am protesting my innocence because I haven't done anything.

"In the end that will all come out."

Evelyn, formerly of Winter Hill, in Darwen, went missing on December 29 after failing to make the short journey home from a friend's house.

Her disappearance sparked a major operation involving officers from France, Spain and Britain.

But despite an extensive search of waterways covering a 300-mile area, no sign of her or the car was found until last month's chance discovery by a horse rider.