Detectives investigating the murder of Walton schoolgirl Milly Dowler are pursuing 97 new leads as they hope to finally catch her killer.

Officers made a fresh appeal for information after prime suspect Levi Bellfield was convicted of murdering two young women.

They hope some of the former doorman's criminal associates will finally break the wall of silence that has hampered their six-year inquiry.

A Surrey Police spokeswoman said some of the calls are "potentially significant" and officers are pleased with the wave of new information.

Milly Dowler, 13, disappeared while walking home from school in Walton in 2002.

Bellfield was told this week he will die in jail after being found guilty of murdering students Marsha McDonnell, 19, and Amelie Delagrange, 22.

Police linked Bellfield to Milly's abduction because his girlfriend lived nearby and they are desperate to trace her car after it was captured on CCTV at the scene.

It is also believed Bellfield may have known Milly as the daughter of a former girlfriend of his once went to school with her.

Senior detectives believe Bellfield was a sexual predator who could be linked to at least 20 other violent attacks on women.

Bellfield prowled around bus stops and followed buses late at night looking for young blonde women on their own. He would follow them, offer them lifts and, if they turned him down, react with rage.