A 40-year-old man was arrested today by detectives investigating the murder of schoolgirl Milly Dowler.

The suspect, from west London, is being questioned about the disposal of a car linked to the murder, Surrey Police said.

Surrey Police have continuously appealed for information about a red Daewoo Nexia car as part of their investigation into the murder of the Walton schoolgirl, who went missing in March 2002.

Her remains were discovered six months later in Yately Heath Forest in Hampshire.

Former wheelclamper Levi Bellfield, currently behind bars for the murders of 19-year-old Marsha McDonnell and 22-year-old Amelie Delagrange, became the prime suspect in the Milly Dowler investigation after CCTV footage, taken moments after her disappearance, showed a red Daewoo driving past the spot where Milly was last seen.

The schoolgirl was last spotted in a suburban street in Walton, just 70 yards from Bellfield’s home, but he has always denied any involvement in the murder.

Police want to trace the red Daewoo Nexia, then owned by Bellfield's girlfriend at the time, Emma Mills, because it may contain key forensic evidence linking him to the murder.

In a newspaper interview earlier this year, Bellfield admitted driving the car on the day in question.

The vehicle was reported stolen from a pub car park in Hounslow several days later and has not been seen since.

Police confirmed Bellfield is not the person who has been arrested.

The man was arrested by Surrey Police when he voluntarily attended a police station at 10am today. Police could not confirm where the suspect was from.

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