Madeleine appeal: 1,000 replies

The man in charge of the Portuguese police investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance has said that Scotland Yard is at the same stage he was at in 2007.

Gonçalo Amaral, who was removed from the case after accusing the McCanns of involvement in their daughter;s disappearance, told ITV News that the latest e-fits are promising.

"Every one of us on the investigation at the time found that lead important – as we see now that it is," he said.

ITV News' Europe Correspondent Emma Murphy reports from Praia Du Luz in Portugal:

Read: E-fits could answer questions over McCann disappearance

Gerry and Kate McCann have said they are "absolutely delighted with the overwhelming public response" to a BBC Crimewatch appeal, which was broadcast last night.

“We know that the public desperately want to help the search for Madeleine," they said in a statement.

"We are genuinely hopeful that one or more of these responses will lead to a major breakthrough in the investigation.

They added: "If anyone was in Praia da Luz around the time of Madeleine’s abduction and has not spoken to the Metropolitan Police, or if they know who any of the e-fits might be, please have the courage to come forward and speak to the police in confidence.”

Read: E-fits could answer questions over McCann disappearance

German television station ZDF will stage a reconstruction of the events of the night of May 3, 2007 when Madeleine McCann disappeared from the room in which she was sleeping in Prais de Luz.

The fresh appeal follow's last night's Crimewatch appeal for new witnesses to come forward.

Read: Police receive 1,000 replies to Madeleine appeal

A special edition of the crime programme Aktenzeichen XY - Ungeloest which is translated as "File XY - Unsolved", will be aired on Wednesday night and will feature an appeal for information from Kate and Gerry McCann.

Police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have received nearly 1,000 calls and emails in response to a fresh appeal for information.

There have been more than 730 calls and 212 emails as a result of "specific lines of inquiry" about the events leading up to and surrounding Madeleine's abduction in Portugal on May 3 2007, Scotland Yard said.

Senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood said detectives are working through the calls and material generated by Monday night's BBC Crimewatch programme.

Police re-investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have been inundated with new and potentially useful information from viewers of a BBC Crimewatch appeal, broadcast last night.

Crimewatch editor Joe Mather said several callers had given the same name for the man spotted carrying a child towards the beach. He told BBC radio 4:

Read: Callers independently name man from Madeleine e-fit pictures

Following the broadcast of a fresh BBC Crimewatch appeal into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, two independent callers last night phoned police with the same name for the man shown on the new e-fit picture.

Viewers were shown a pair of images of a man with dark hair, which are based on descriptions from two witnesses who were staying in Praia da Luz, when the three-year-old went missing in 2007.

DCI Andy Redwood, the senior officer investigating the the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, said that the evidence of the kidnapping had "the hallmarks of a pre-planned abduction that would have undoubtedly have involved reconnaissance."

The two new e-fits of a man were broadcast, while police said they had effectively ruled out a previous key sighting of a different man carrying a little girl.

Read: Ruling out sighting was 'revelation' in Madeleine case

Nearly 500 people have contacted police with information after a fresh television appeal into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, Scotland Yard has said.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood said he is "extremely pleased" with the response to the BBC's Crimewatch, with over 300 calls and 170 emails received.

"We will now take the time to follow up these lines of enquiry."

A rise in local burglaries that peaked in the month Madeleine McCann disappeared are also being studied by Scotland Yard detectives who are investigating whether the three-year-old may have disturbed a break-in before being snatched.

"Whilst the numbers are low, we can see that there was an increase in burglary in Praia de Luz between January and April 2007 that spiked in April 2007," Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood said.

"Windows were a feature, as well as burglaries taking place in the evening."

Police are also interested in an incident that occurred in Praia da Luz in 2006 when a man, described as white with dark hair, rummaged through an apartment in which two children were inside before leaving empty handed.

E-fits have also been issued of two Portuguese men who police suspect of posing as charity collectors in Praia da Luz around the time Madeleine McCann was abducted.

Bogus collectors targeted properties in the area on at least four occasions on the day the three-year-old was abducted, Scotland Yard has said.

One man, aged 40 to 45, knocked on the door of the apartment where the McCanns were to stay on April 25 or 26 between 2.30pm and 3pm, saying that he was a charity collector.

The other, aged 25 to 30, approached a property on the Rua do Ramalhete, near the Ocean Club, at around 4pm on May 3, hours before Madeleine McCann disappeared.