Amanda detectives check purse find

Amanda was last seen on 21 March

Police investigating the disappearance of Surrey schoolgirl Amanda Dowler are following up a new lead.

A viewer called the BBC television Crimewatch programme on Wednesday claiming to have found a purse like Amanda's.

Surrey Police said they were treating it with caution after a different purse found last month by another Crimewatch viewer turned out not to be Amanda's.

Amanda, also known as Millie, has not been seen since she began to walk home from Walton-on-Thames railway station on 21 March.

Popular make

A purse similar to the 13-year-old's, which was made from white plastic with a red ace of hearts motif, was found within days of her disappearance after an earlier Crimewatch appeal.

Police said they were checking the latest discovery, but warned that Amanda's was a popular make from a high street retailer.

A spokeswoman said the call was from a woman, but did not know where the purse had been found.

Earlier on Thursday the best friend of the missing 13-year-old said running away did not fit the "personality" of the schoolgirl.

Milly and Hannah created a friendship book together

In a television interview for GMTV, Hannah Macdonald said she was not the type of person to run away.

"She's really, really nervous when she's on her own and she definitely wouldn't run away in her school uniform."

Hannah said her Amanda - known as Milly - was kind and supportive.

"No matter what time you rang, she would always speak to you."

Body fears

The appeal comes after a worrying few days for the missing 13-year-old's family.

On Wednesday they were told that a body found in the Thames on Tuesday was not Amanda's.

Hannah said she did not know how to react when she heard the news.

How her mum and dad are coping - it's amazing. It's every parents nightmare

Sara Macdonald

"I was thinking, in a way it would be good if it was Milly because then we would know what happened and then we could try and get on but still think about her.

"But if it wasn't Milly it would be good because there's still hope that she's alive and well.

"It's impossible for someone not to see someone being pulled into the side of the road or into a car, because it's obvious that she hasn't run away."

'Mummy's girl'

Amanda was last seen on 21 March walking home from the railway station at nearby Walton-on-Thames.

After sharing a plate of chips with a friend, she phoned her father, Robert, to say she was heading home - she never arrived.

Hannah said she was firmly convinced Amanda, who she fondly described as a "big mummy's girl", had not left home voluntarily.

Shopping trip

She said the two of them had plans for the weekend - they had been planning to go to a gig and had organised a shopping trip.

Hannah's mother, Sara, said the past day's events had been incredibly hard for Amanda's parents.

"I just can't see how Milly would run away, she's got no reason to run away.

"How her mum and dad are coping - it's amazing. It's every parents nightmare."