A Thai court has decided to suspend the corruption case against Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thaksin and his wife have been the subject of allegations of corruption during his time as the Prime Minister of Thailand.

However, a Supreme Court panel has now declared that it will only restart the case when prosecutors bring the pair to court.

The former Thai PM and his wife have lived in exile in London since last year's military coup, which overthrew Thaksin's leadership.

"The court decided to suspend the case and the trial will resume when the two defendants are found," said chief judge Thonglor Chomngam.

"Although the plaintiff has claimed that the extradition process will take about 90 days, there is no clear indication when the two defendants will be presented in court."

Public prosecutors have said they are planning to visit Britain in October to talk to officials about the possibility of extraditing Thaksin, who has been the subject of an arrest warrant since August, to face the charges.

If convicted Thaksin could face up to 10 years in jail and therefore his lawyer, Noppadon Pattama, has welcomed the court's decision.

"We'd like to thank the court for giving preliminary justice to both defendants," said Noppadon.