Madeleine McCann's parents mark ten years of 'stolen time'

Madeleine McCann's mother has described the tenth anniversary of her daughter's disappearance as a 'horrible marker of time, stolen time'.

Gerry and Kate McCann. Picture: PA

In a message on the Official Find Madeleine Campaign Facebook page, Kate McCann added: “We are bracing ourselves for the next couple of weeks.

“It’s likely to be stressful and painful and more so given the rehashing of old ‘stories’, misinformation, half-truths and downright lies which will be doing the rounds in the newspapers, social media and ‘special edition’ TV programmes.”

Three-year-old Madeleine vanished from the family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal on May 3, 2007.

Kate and her husband Gerry McCann, of Rothley, Leicestershire, have always vowed to never give up hope of finding their daughter.

In the message Mrs McCann said they “couldn’t even begin to consider anything in terms of years” when their daughter first disappeared.

She wrote: “Ten years - there’s no easy way to say it, describe it, accept it. And now here we are... Madeleine, our Madeleine - ten years.

“Most days are similar to the rest - another day. May 3rd 2017 - another day. But ten years - a horrible marker of time, stolen time.”

However, she insisted “there will always be hope”.