The hunt for the killer of schoolgirl Sarah Payne has suffered a setback.

Detectives said today that a child's shoe and blue material believed to be from her dress, discovered last month, did not belong to the murdered eight-year-old.

If the material had been part of the dress Sarah was wearing when she was abducted on July 1 it could have provided vital scientific evidence to help trap her killer.

The items were found in a hedge in Thakeham, close to the field next to the A29 where Sarah's naked body was found on July 17.

But today the officer in charge of the murder inquiry, Detective Superintendent Peter Kennett, said the items were unlikely to have been connected with Sarah.

He said: "Forensic examinations are not yet complete but the indications are that they were not Sarah's."

Despite the blow, police say Operation Maple has entered a "new phase" with the arrival in Sussex of a ten-strong team of detectives from neighbouring Hampshire.

The officers, led by Detective Superintendent Keith Ackerman, have been invited to take an in-depth look at the way Mr Kennett's Littlehampton-based squad has handled the murder hunt.

Sussex Police say it is good practice for other forces to review major long-running investigations from time to time.

Mr Kennett said today: "We would like to think we have left no stone unturned but there is always the possibility we may have missed something."

The Hampshire detectives, who have already met Sarah's parents, Michael and Sara, will now begin the process of reviewing evidence which has already been gathered and to suggest new ideas.

Mr Ackerman's team is expected to spend up to three weeks sifting through the thousands of statements which have been taken since Mr Kennett said: "We have told Michael and Sara that we remain as determined as ever that their daughter's killer will be brought to justice."