A child minder who looked after Madeleine McCann has finally spoken out about the night she disappeared.
The nanny, who worked at the resort where Maddie and her family were staying, said she is still haunted by what happened that night almost ten years ago and the image of dad, Gerry McCann, desperately trying to find his little girl.
She told the Mirror, on the night of the disappearance, while Gerry searched for his little girl, mum Kate cried, 'They've taken her', as the nanny tried to comfort her.
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She said: "A parent came to me and said there was something going on, and said someone's looking for a child, I didn't instantly think it was Maddie.
"A couple of minutes later I walked into Kate crying, friends comforting her, Gerry looking under cars, and it just blew up.
"I don't even think she saw me. I just stood next to her and tried to comfort her.
"She was pacing up and down. The worst possible thing had just happened to her. I think I said something like, 'She'll be found, these things happen all the time.'
"She was crying, but almost in a catatonic state, and Gerry was very distressed. That's the one thing I really remember from him, looking under the cars. I can't forget that.
The nanny, who had looked after little Maddie several times during the McCann's stay, said that her and other members of staff began to sift through industrial sized bins to look for the little girl. They also walked the streets of Praia da Luz until 5am.
The unnamed witness, told the paper the resort was so dangerous nannies were given rape alarms and told not to go out alone.
The Warner Holiday complex in Praia Da Luz in Portugal, where Madeleine McCann went missing. Credit: PA
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She also took the opportunity to criticise the way Portuguese police handled the investigation; claiming that their mishandling ruined any chance of finding who had snatched the little girl.
She told the Mirror: "I know I didn't step into that apartment but pretty much everybody else did. So, evidence gone, nothing. There was nobody there to say, 'We need to lock this off now.'
"The police didn't get there for ages, maybe an hour and a half, so we were looking for her."
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She claims that when she was interviewed by police a second time a significant amount of her statement - at least two pages - was missing.
She also added that the she couldn't believe that Kate and Gerry were ever accused of being involved. Telling the paper that when police asked her if she thought it was possible she told them 'no, there's no way at all. A, timings and B, where it was, their reactions, the whole thing. Not a chance.'
Speaking about Madeleine she said the little girl was a 'real cutie and a real sweetheart' as well as 'slightly shy, very sweet'.
When asked if she believed Madeleine is still alive, she said: "Think possibly is the wrong word, but hope. I hope she is still alive."
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Last month Operation Grange was given £85,000 of Home Office funding to extend its investigations until September.
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