About the time of the death, Rikki's mother, Ruth Neave (pictured), was arrested and charged with murdering her son, but was cleared by a jury at a trial in 1996. 

Image source, PA

She admitted child neglect and cruelty and was jailed for seven years.

Despite extensive investigations at the time, and a case review in 2004, no-one was ever convicted of six-year-old Rikki's murder.

Speaking on the BBC's Crimewatch last year, Ms Neave, now aged 45, told the appeal: "I wasn't the mother of the year but then again I never killed my son... so who did?"

Speaking last year, the sister of Rikki Neave said it was "unbelievable" his killer was still walking around.

Image source, PA

Her brother's naked body was found in woods near Peterborough's Welland Estate on 29 November 1994.

His sister, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "To think that someone has took my brother away - part of my family - and is still walking around living a lie is unbelievable."

Following the Crimewatch show last year, Det Supt Paul Fulwood said Cambridgeshire Police had taken some "significant" calls after the Rikki Neave appeal which would be followed up.

"We're really excited by the progress," he said at the time.

The teenagers being sought - now middle-aged men - were believed to still be living in the local area, he said.

A reward of up to £10,000 is on offer for information which leads to the arrest and conviction of Rikki's killer.

A renewed appeal for information over the death of Rikki Neave, six, was featured on the BBC's Crimewatch last year, and police received 17 calls about the case.

One person contacted the show to report a sighting of Rikki on 28 November 1994, outside the shops in Scalford Drive between 17:00 and 18:00. He left with two teenage boys.

Police said they also received a report of someone matching Rikki's description seen outside the flats in Tilton Court, walking with a teenage boy with a dog at about 21:00 GMT on the same day.

Another person said they saw two boys pushing a buggy in Belvoir Way, heading towards the wood where Rikki was found.

Last November, 22 years after Rikki Neave's death, an artist's impression was released by police of two teenage boys seen leaving the woods where Rikki was later found.

Image source, Cambridgeshire Police

This sighting was at about 06:30 on 29 November 1994, the day after Rikki had skipped school and was seen around the Welland Estate.

In June last year officers from the three-force Major Crime Unit relaunched the investigation into Rikki Neave's death, with a team of dedicated officers and specialists assigned.

Over the past 10 months officers have been methodically building a timeline of Rikki's last movements and made a national appeal for help via the BBC's Crimewatch programme.

It has led to an arrest of a man in his 30s in Peterborough this morning.

Rikki Neave was last seen leaving for school in Peterborough, at about 09:00 on the morning of 28 November 1994.

Image source, Cambridgeshire Police

His body was found in a wooded area of Eye Road, close to Willoughby Court, at 12:05 the following day. It was five minutes' walk from his house in the Welland Estate.

A post-mortem examination concluded the six-year-old had died as a result of a compression of the neck – strangulation.

Detectives have arrested a man in connection with the death of six-year-old Rikki Neave.

The man, who is in his 30s and from Peterborough, was arrested on suspicion of murder this morning and is currently in custody at a police station in Cambridgeshire.

Rikki Neave was found dead in Peterborough in November 1994.

David Keller
BBC News

Hello again and thanks for joining us for today's Cambridgeshire Live.

We're starting a little early as there's been some breaking news in the last few minutes - an arrest in the Rikki Neave murder case in Peterborough. We'll bring you more on this as soon as possible.