THE brother of a York man murdered in his own home has called for police to reopen the case.

Businessman Geoffrey Leeming was found beaten and stabbed in the garage of his Haxby home in October 1996. Several people, including members of Mr Leeming's family, were arrested in connection with his murder, but magistrates threw the case out before it reached crown court.

Mr Leeming's brother Tony yesterday told a local radio station he had contacted North Yorkshire Police and asked them to reopen the case, and find his brother's killer.

He said: "I was assured that the North Yorkshire constabulary had never had a murder in which they could not find the perpetrator and convict, so be hopeful we'll find him or her and it never happened. Nothing happened.

"I have spoken to North Yorkshire Police but they said funding cold case reviews is an expensive venture and they do not have the funding to open every case. We have just gone from year to year feeling very disappointed and I got in touch with the police but I don't want to be a pain to them I just want them to re-examine the statements. Re-examine the evidence, such as they have. There have been so many advances in DNA technology and other techniques that surely it must be worth another look."

Since the launch of North Yorkshire Police's Major Crime Unit in late 2013, detectives have reviewed a number of cold cases, the most high-profile being a thorough review of missing York chef Claudia Lawrence, which has seen the first two arrests in the investigation's five year history.

Yesterday, Detective Chief Inspector Allan Harder from the MCU, said more would be needed to bring about a case review.

He said: "Any re-investigation into the murder of Geoffrey Leeming would require new intelligence or evidence that could be considered towards a review."