Police receive new leads in bath girl abduction

Police investigating the abduction and sexual assault of a six-year-old girl have received a number of new leads following a television appeal.

The girl was abducted from her home in Willington Quay, North Tyneside on December 27. Her abductor drove her around the area for around 15 minutes, before sexually assaulting her and dumping her naked in an alley near her home.

On BBC's 'Crimewatch' show last night, Detective Chief Inspector Jim Napier, who is leading the investigation, took viewers around the route taken by the abductor. He said that the girl had been told by her mother to 'look for buildings' if she got lost and the advice helped her to identify various local landmarks.

Police believe that the car in which the girl was taken stopped at least once, probably close to some factories. DCI Napier said: "She remembers grey buildings with red windows, which we believe to be factories on the Point Pleasant industrial estate in Wallsend."

DCI Napier said that police had received some "strong lines in inquiry" in response to last night's appeal.

Many of the calls are believed to relate to cars which were spotted in the area around the time of the girl's abduction.

The cars are: a red or burgundy VW, possibly a VW Golf with an M or N registration, which was seen driving slowly around the Willington Quay area, including the back lanes, around two to three hours before the girl was abducted; a red car, possibly an old style BMW 3 series, which was seen being driven at speed from Bewicke Road then west along Hadrian Road around 7:15pm, and a black Ford Focus, which was seen being driven at speed around Station Road and Bewicke Road around 6:30pm. This car also made an "excessive noise", as if it had some kind of mechanical defect.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Incident Room on: 0191 214 6555 or Crimestoppers on: 0800 555 111.

(KMcA)