Fred and Rose West 'could be behind' disappearance of trainee nurse Maria Aldridge, 17, who vanished more than 50 years ago, her devastated sister tells true crime podcast 'The Missing'

 Fred and Rose West could be behind one of Britain's oldest missing person cases, her devastated sister fears despite her being fobbed off by cops.

Trainee nurse Maria Aldridge vanished more than 50 years ago when she was 17.

Maria Aldridge, pictured, was a 17-year-old nurse training in Birmingham when she vanished without a trace in May 1968, according to her family

For more than 50 years, her sister Cathy Phillips, pictured, has been appealing for information about what happened to Maria

Cathy has been speaking on the popular Missing podcast hosted by Pandora Sykes, picturedMaria went missing at some point between May 21-24, 1968 - without collecting her wages or saying goodbye, suggesting she didn't run away or elope.

Her heartbroken sister Cathy Phillips fears she may have fallen victim to the Wests, a depraved serial killer couple who murdered at least 12 people between 1967 and 1987.'She didn't bury herself so where's the body?' said Cathy, who's now in her 70s.

Maria was training at Dudley Road Hospital in Birmingham when she disappeared.

Cathy has now told The Missing podcast she thinks the Wests may have been involved.

The podcast's host Pandora Sykes said: 'There is one theory that gives Cathy more sleepless nights.

'Around 50 miles away from Birmingham, where Maria was last seen, is the town of Gloucester, a town that at that time was home to two of the most depraved killers in British living memory.

'Fred and Rose West lived at 25 Cromwell Street, a house which has since been dubbed the house of horrors.

Pamela believes this advert in the Birmingham Mail of June 1, 1968, may have linked to her disappearance - especially as Fred West - who met women at bus stops, was living just 50 miles away

'While the Wests gave the impression of being a normal couple, behind closed doors they committed a series of murders, often involving their own sexual gratification.

'Fred was linked to 12 murders between 1967 and 1987 - all of them were young women.

'Rose was convicted of 10 of those murders.

'As well as their own daughter, the victims were family members of strangers who Fred had picked up at bus stops.

'Their remains were found buried in the garden, concealed in the cellar or beneath the floors of Number 25.

'The true extent of the West's crimes wasn't known until 1994.

'But with their earliest victim being killed in 1967 - just a year before Maria disappeared - Cathy wondered if Maria had somehow come to harm at the hands of the Wests.

'Had she been innocently waiting at a bus stop when she got picked up?

'Was there a chance the Wests had taken Maria as one of their first victims?

'Cathy's mother took her suspicions to the police.'

'The possibility of the West's involvement still lingers and that's because there is little else to go on.'

Fred and Rose West, pictured, operated from the House of Horrors on Cromwell Street, Gloucester. Fred West was linked to 12 murders between 1967 and 1987. His wife was convicted of ten of those killings

The latest episode of the podcast was released last Friday on January 28 

After Maria vanished, a stranger 'John Gough' turned up at the family home in Stourport, North Worcestershire, announcing he was her boyfriend and that she was missing.

Cathy and her mother Mary went to check at the hospital where it was confirmed she hadn't been seen.

The Wests were living in Gloucester carrying out their evil crimes at the time.

But Maria's mother flagged the case to cops working on the Fred and Rose West inquiry in the 1990s - but was told she wasn't among the identified victims.

Officers reportedly revisited the investigation in 2010 to probe whether a headless woman found in Norfolk was Maria, but DNA tests confirmed it wasn't.

They then discovered a potentially significant lead.

An advertisement was printed in the local paper on June 1, 1968.

It stated: 'Nurse M. Meet 7pm. 63 bus. Monday, June 3.

'Hope to see you, Simon.'

Maria's mother flagged her daughter's case to officers investigating Fred and Rose West, but her disappearance was not linked to the cases

Officers are yet to establish who 'Simon' was, and whether 'Nurse M' was Maria.

Mary reportedly died in 2005 aged 93 without knowing what happened to her daughter

Cathy now claims she's heard 'rumours' Fred West had links to Birmingham - possibly increasingly the likelihood he was somehow involved in her sister's disappearance. 

Cathy's interview features in the latest episode of the Missing Podcast which was released on Friday, January 28.