POLICE investigating the murder of pensioner Jenny Methven are looking to trace door-to-door salesmen who may have called at her house on the day of the attack.

Detective Chief Inspector Colin Gall, of Tayside Police, yesterday revealed the line of inquiry as he expressed confidence an appeal on Crimewatch tonight will help to progress the case.

Mrs Methven, 80, was hit over the head with a blunt object at her cottage in Forteviot, Perthshire, on February 20.

She was found slumped over her kitchen table with a blood soaked cloth around her head by her 57-year-old son David.

The day of the murder will be re-enacted tonight on the BBC1 Mr Gall said: "There's no singular line of inquiry that we're pursuing. We are looking at known criminals in the area. We're asking 'was someone targeting the house for crime?'.

"We've been following a line of inquiry on door-to-door salesmen in the area. They have been travelling about in four or five different vans selling things and it could be that they called at Jenny's door and didn't get a response.

"If they did we want to hear from them."

Police had earlier revealed Mrs Methven had been speaking with a friend on the phone that morning but ended the phone call at around 10.30am because she said someone was reversing up her driveway.

Mr Gall added: "I am sure we will get responses from Crimewatch and we will look through the information received to see if any of it corroborates what we have already been told or offers a new line of inquiry for us to follow up.

"Progress is continuing, whether it be through forensic work, CCTV recovery or examining the events leading up to Jenny's death and we hope to further this through the Crimewatch appeal.

"Crucial to us is this vehicle. I'm sure someone out there knows who it was that reversed up that driveway and may be feeling guilty about what happened. Or, at the same time, they may have had nothing at all to do with Jenny's death and in that case they should come forward with any information they do have.

"We still have no further information on this vehicle. About 360 cars went through the checkpoint the following week – that's a lot of cars with the potential to have seen someone in the driveway."

The detective – who will be interviewed on tonight's show – confirmed he has still not ruled out the possibility that it was someone who knew Mrs Methven who killed her.

He said: "I wouldn't discount anything. Is it a crime gone wrong? Is it someone she knew?

"I can't presume or discount anything. I'm keeping a very open mind."

He added it was "difficult to judge" how Mrs Methven's son was coping with his mother's death.

"Some days he's up and then the next day he's down," he said. "It's hard to tell because how do you respond to your mother being murdered in such a way in a community such as this?

"He's being supported by our family liaison officers and his own family."

Mr Gall said that nothing had been reported missing from Mrs Methven's house, where forensic inquiries are still ongoing.

He added: "Where the house is located, it's a short distance from the A9 and M80, which are both used as a national route. There will be regular commuters and lorry drivers who may know something. For the vehicle to leave Jenny's house, at some point it would have had to join these major roads.

"If drivers saw anyone who was acting in an unusual way that day, maybe they cut them up or were behaving strangely, they should get in touch."

The Crimewatch team have been in Perthshire over the past week filming the reconstruction. They have interviewed both Mr Gall and a close family friend of the Methvens.