Maddie’s mum’s sad Xmas secret

MADDIE McCann's mum has revealed she still buys her missing daughter Christmas presents - harbouring hope her girl will return home safe.

The Sun reports that Kate McCann revealed that even ten years on, she had kept her daughter's room exactly the same as it was when the tot disappeared, ready for her to come home.

Writing for the Telegraph in an emotional letter, Mrs McCann revealed her family had a tradition of buying a Christmas stocking for her children, including Madeleine who would now be 14-years-old.

"The presents I buy for her usually have to jump out at me," Mrs McCann said. "She would be a teenager now so I always try and pick something that would be suitable and enjoyable for her no matter what age she is when she gets to open them.

"In my head I guess I just want everything for be right for her when she comes back home. The loft is filled with the presents I have bought for Madeleine and her wardrobe, too."

But she admitted that her daughter, who would be a teenager now, might not like her bedroom being the same bright pink she had loved as a toddler.

She said she had felt "numb" after Maddie went missing while the family was on holidays in Portugal, she said everything now was "tinged with pain" as the family faced their 11th Christmas without their daughter.

In her letter, Mrs McCann praised the work of the Missing People charity team, saying they were "genuine, caring" people who had helped her family through the difficult years of Maddie's disappearance.

There have been more than 8000 potential sightings of the Brit three-year-old since her disappearance, but police have so far failed to locate her.

Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said there are "significant investigative avenues" that are of "great interest" to both the UK and Portuguese teams investigating.

Met cops believe she was stolen by child traffickers or sex fiends, or during a burglary gone wrong.

This article originally appeared in The Sun