£150,000 reward to catch Sarah's killer

Police have interviewed 4,000 people

Sussex Police say a £150,000 reward is now on offer as they renew their appeal for help in catching the killer of eight-year-old Sarah Payne.

Senior member of the inquiry team, Detective Superintendent Alan Ladley, said the sighting of a white van remained "a major line of inquiry", while they still also needed to recover Sarah's blue dress.

During a news conference at Littlehampton police station on Wednesday afternoon, he revealed the team was still trying to piece together the last movements of Sarah.

It is almost two months since she was abducted from a field near her grandparents' home close to East Preston, West Sussex, on 1 July.

Sarah's funeral will take place on 31 August

Mr Ladley said the larger reward had come from media groups, organisations and from individuals, in order to catch the killer.

Sarah's body was found by a farm worker in a field off the main A29 trunk road near Pulborough, West Sussex, on 17 July.

Mr Ladley stressed the van they needed to trace was a "Transit-style" but was not necessarily that particular Ford make, adding there had been sightings both where Sarah had disappeared and where her body was found.

To assist in the search for the blue Fred Perry dress, police had ordered an exact copy from the original manufacturers in Taiwan.

'35,000 calls'

He also renewed appeals for witnesses who were on the beach at Kingston Gorse during the early evening of 1 July, where the Paynes spent some time together prior to their children going off to play in fields.

"We do not know where the offender first saw Sarah. It could have been on the beach...or he may have decided to snatch her just seconds before," said Mr Ladley.

Police want to trace some horseriders and any families who may have taken photographs on the beach.

One of the biggest manhunts ever seen in the UK was launched after Sarah went missing.

Mr Ladley said the inquiry team had so far taken 35,000 calls, interviewed 4,000 members of the public and taken 800 statements.

"Sixty officers are still permanently seconded to the investigation and that will continue," he said.

'Meticulous'

Police say they are carrying out "slow and meticulous" inquiries into the eight-year-old's murder.

"A second post mortem didn't throw any light on the circumstances of Sarah's death," said Mr Ladley.

But he added that "strangulation or suffocation" was the probable cause.

A 41-year-old man, from Littlehampton, West Sussex, has been arrested twice in connection with the murder, but on both occasions he has been released without charge.

Roy Whiting is currently remanded in custody on unrelated charges.

A memorial service for Sarah was held on 12 August at Guildford Cathedral.

The Payne family has appealed to the public for help

Her parents, Michael and Sara, both 31, released 12 white doves at the end of the service as a symbol of peace.

The West Sussex coroner has officially released the body of Sarah Payne to her family.

A private funeral service will be held near the Payne's family home in Hersham, Surrey, on 31 August.