A man was arrested on Friday in connection with the potential disposal of a car that police suspect is linked to the murder of Surrey schoolgirl Milly Dowler six years ago.

Police said the 34-year-old man was arrested during a dawn raid in Hounslow, west London. He is being questioned over suspicions he might have helped dispose of a red Daewoo Nexia.

The car was seen on CCTV footage taken from the Walton-on-Thames area on the same day the 13 year-old went missing in March 2002.

She was abducted in broad daylight as she walked home from the local train station after school.

Her remains were found by a couple picking mushrooms in secluded Hampshire woodland, about 25 miles away, six months after her disappearance.

Despite a huge police inquiry that at one stage even involved the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, her killer has never been caught.

The car was the subject of a fresh appeal after last week's conviction of "bus stop killer", Levi Bellfield, who is now considered a prime suspect in the Dowler case.

Detectives believe Bellfield had access to his girlfriend's Daewoo Nexia, which was also red. The couple had a rented flat in Walton.

Surrey police declined to comment about the arrested man's identity or whether he was linked to Bellfield. Sky News reported he was a "known associate" of Bellfield's.

The 39-year-old wheel clamper was jailed for life, without the prospect of parole, for beating two female students to death and the attempted murder of another in southwest London, just a few miles from Walton.

Since his conviction and a renewed appeal for information, police said they were pursuing almost 100 new leads.

They released the car's registration number, N 503 GLT, and its chassis number, KLATF68V1SB554108.