11 years ago are "blurred", but he remembers waiting "forever" for the police to arrive.

"It just felt terrible. We went then to another apartment, by which time it was three or four in the morning and Kate was saying, 'I want to go back out and search.'

"I was saying: 'Just wait until it gets light,' and Kate kept saying: 'It's so cold.'"

Image copyright Gerry McCann

The Metropolitan Police inquiry into the disappearance - known as Operation Grange - has been ongoing since 2011.

Four people were identified as suspects in 2013, but no further action was taken after they were interviewed by Portuguese officers and the Met Police, who visited the holiday resort in 2014.

The Home Office said last week it is currently considering a police request for an extrasix months' funding for Operation Grange.

Thursday 3 May 2007: Timeline

20:30 Kate and Gerry McCann leave their apartment to have dinner at a Tapas bar

Kate and Gerry McCann leave their apartment to have dinner at a Tapas bar 21:05 Gerry McCann checks on Madeleine and her siblings

Gerry McCann checks on Madeleine and her siblings 22:00 A man is seen carrying a child wearing pyjamas heading towards the ocean (E-fit images of the suspect were released as part of a 2013 Crimewatch appeal)

A man is seen carrying a child wearing pyjamas heading towards the ocean (E-fit images of the suspect were released as part of a 2013 Crimewatch appeal) 22:00 Kate McCann raises the alarm that Madeleine has gone missing

Clickable map and timeline