Television viewers will tonight hear how a little girl remembered vital safety advice from her mum when she was being driven round in a car by a man who had abducted from her home.

The six-year-old, who was taken from the bath of her home in Willington Quay, North Tyneside on December 27, helped Northumbria Police officers trace the route between the family's flat and the back lane where she was abandoned less than half an hour later.

In a reconstruction tonight, viewers of the BBC's Crimewatch UK programme will be taken round the route by Detective Chief Inspector Jim Napier, who is leading the investigation, as part of a nationwide appeal for information.

Det Chief Insp Napier said: "The little girl was able to give us some idea of where she'd been taken by recognising various local landmarks.

"We later found out that her mum had advised her, if ever she got lost, to 'look for buildings' and this is obviously what she's done.

"It was good advice and it was remarkable that the little girl remembered it despite being in the middle of what must have been a very frightening experience.

"The fact that she was able to recall the route so clearly has been of major benefit to the inquiry."

Detectives have now been able to establish that the car in which the little girl was taken stopped at least once on the journey, probably near some factories.

Det Chief Insp Napier added: "She remembers grey buildings with red windows, which we believe to be factories on the Point Pleasant industrial estate in Wallsend.

"We would like to speak to anyone who saw a car parked there between 7pm and 7.30pm on the night of Tuesday, December 27.

"It was a holiday period so it's unlikely that there were many people about that area, which would have made a parked car all the more noticeable."

The car could have been one of three which detectives still need to eliminate from inquiries. They are: a red or burgundy VW, possibly a VW Golf with an M or N registration; a red car, possibly an old style BMW 3 series; and a black Ford Focus.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Incident Room on 0191-214 6555 ext 63806.