DETECTIVES investigating the abduction of a six-year-old girl from her bath said last night there was no link to a man who was found hanged near the scene.

Officers took away Lee Bayley's Ford Escort car and clothes from his flat for forensic examination to see if there were clues identifying him as the abductor.

The girl was taken from her bath, driven around and subjected to a sexually-motivated assault before she was dumped naked and freezing in a back lane.

Thirty-year-old Mr Bayley's body was found hanged at his flat in Berwicke Road, Willington Quay, North Tyneside, days after the abduction and just as police said they were closing in on the culprit.

But officers said last night they had not established a link between the abduction on December 27 and the death of Mr Bayley, which is not being treated as suspicious.

Detective Chief Inspector Jim Napier, who is leading the investigation, said: "I am as satisfied as I can be at this time that he was not involved."

News that police believe Mr Bayley was not the abductor has struck new fear into the community.

Jennifer Bothick, who lives with her 11-year-old son and downstairs from her two-year-old niece, said parents do not let their children out of their sight now.

She said: "None of us are letting our kids go out because we are still worried about their safety.

"Even when I am in the house and my son is on his games console I have to keep the door locked because someone could come in while I am upstairs.

"If it can happen to that family no one is safe. We are all living on edge."

According to the girl's description, her abductor was between 5ft 4in and 5ft 8in, possibly with sideburns or unshaven.

Police have urged the man, who they described as extremely dangerous, to give himself up before officers knock on his door.