Vishal Mehrotra: Man claims he saw murdered boy after he vanished

Vishal Mehrotra disappeared from London in July 1981, and was found in Rogate, West Sussex, seven months later

A retired firefighter claims he saw a murdered schoolboy with a mystery man the day after he vanished in 1981.

Vishal Mehrotra went missing from west London, and his remains were found in woods in West Sussex, months later.

David Balfour said he saw a boy matching Vishal's description with a man near Rogate, where the boy's remains were found.

Mr Balfour had reported the sighting to Sussex Police, but officers said he had been unable to give more information.

The eight-year-old boy vanished as he walked home from shops in Putney on the day of the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in July 1981.

Mr Balfour claims he saw him the following day at the Devil's Punch Bowl beauty spot in Surrey - 11 miles from Rogate.

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He told the BBC the man he saw accompanying the boy was "dressed in khaki, which at that day and age was so unusual.

"It stuck in my mind. To be dressed like that in England is so unusual."

Two further sightings of a man dressed in khaki seen with an Asian boy on the day of the royal wedding were reported to police.

The pair were seen in all three sightings within 11 miles of the woods where Vishal's remains were found, but the mystery man was never traced.

One of the sightings detailed an Asian boy wearing a striped shirt. Vishal was wearing a striped t-shirt the day he vanished.

An artist's impression of the man in khaki was put together in 1982.

'Extensive and thorough'

Sussex police said they contacted Mr Balfour three years ago to see if he could provide any further information, but he was unable to do so.

The force says his possible sighting in 1981 provided no viable lines of inquiry but will be saved for future reference.

The force has previously said the case had been the subject of "extensive and thorough police inquiries".

Vishal's father Vishambar Mehrotra, however, maintains his death was not fully investigated.

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