A 43-year-old man has been arrested over the murder of a seven-year-old girl in Sunderland more than 21 years ago.
According to Sky sources the man arrested is not George Heron, who was found responsible for her death in a civil case brought by the girl's mother Sharon Prest in 1994.
Mr Heron, who lived a few doors away from Nikki's family home, was ordered to pay Ms Prest £7,000, but she has since said she did not receive the money.
The civil ruling followed a six-week criminal trial in November 1993 when Mr Heron was found not guilty of murder.
It came after a judge ruled an alleged confession to Nikki's murder was recorded by the police during an "oppressive" police interview and banned it from being played to the jury.
In a brief statement on Thursday, Northumbria Police confirmed the arrest and asked anyone with information to come forward.
"Nikki Allan, who was seven years old when she was murdered, was found dead on October 8, 1992, in the then-derelict Old Exchange Building, near to her family home at Wear Garth, Sunderland," the statement said.
"The investigation into her death has been ongoing for the last 21 years and officers are making a fresh appeal for anyone with any information to come forward.
"They are particularly keen to speak to anyone who lived in the Wear Garth area at the time of the murder or anyone who hung around or inside the Old Exchange Building."
Northumbria Police reconstructed Nikki's murder last September and said a witness had then come forward with new information.