Senior police officers who led the investigation into eight-year-old Sarah Payne's murder will be given recognition tomorrow.

Detective Inspector Martyn Underhill and Detective Superintendent Alan Ladley were in charge of Operation Maple, the biggest and most complex crime inquiry Sussex Police has ever mounted.

Tomorrow the pair will be congratulated by Sussex Police Authority chairman David Rogers at the first meeting in Lewes since Roy Whiting was jailed for life for Sarah's abduction and murder.

Sarah disappeared on July 1 last year from a country lane near her grandparents' home in Kingston Gorse. Her body was found in a shallow grave near Pulborough 16 days later.

The forensic investigation that followed was huge but the first item of evidence linking Whiting to Sarah's murder came to light just a few days before Christmas last year.

Mr Ladley, 45, from Bognor, said today: "We are all relieved now it's over.

"It was a high-profile job and it was important to get the right result because from day one I had concern that if we could not get a conviction of Roy Whiting, he would abduct and kill another girl.

"We had Whiting on the first day but no evidence against him. It is satisfying because we all know it was a robust case and the evidence was fairly obtained and used. What we could not afford was a situation where the Court of Appeal could overturn the conviction.

"Of course we were caught up in the emotion. When I had to go back to Littlehampton after finding the body in Pulborough to debrief the team, you could cut the atmosphere with a knife."

He added: "I'm getting inundated with letters of appreciation from police across the country as well as members of the public saying their faith in the police service has been restored."

The inquiry cost the taxpayer more than £2 million and involved 910 police officers and 112 support staff.