Missing Madeleine McCann has been "totally excluded" as a potential victim after a young girl's remains were found in a suitcase in Australia.

South Australia Police said it had ruled out 43 missing children in connection to the grim discovery next to a remote motorway in Wynarka near Adelaide on July 15.

The decomposed body is that of a fair-haired girl aged between two and a half and four, who was killed at another location in at least 2007.

Blonde Madeleine was three years old when she went missing from the family's holiday apartment in Portugal's Algarve on May 3 2007.

Detective Superintendent Des Bray said: "I can confirm that Madeleine McCann has been totally excluded as a potential victim and UK police have been advised."

The Metropolitan Police have previously said they were aware of reports that a child's remains had been found and had contacted Australian authorities.