Christian Brueckner 'terrorised residents of Portuguese village by regularly carrying a gun'
- Small town of Foral boasts a single restaurant and is not far from the Algarve
- Resident Lia Silva claimed Brueckner shocked some in the tiny village of Foral
- It was also claimed yesterday that Brueckner gave underage girls drugs at raves
Villagers in a Portuguese hamlet were left terrified by the sight of paedophile Christian Brueckner regularly carrying a gun, it was claimed last night.
The 43-year-old, now the main suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, stayed at a rural bolthole not far from the Algarve resort where the then three-year-old was last seen.
Last night, the building's owner said she would welcome police digging at her property in the hunt for a body after German police said they believe Madeleine is dead.
Lia Silva claimed Brueckner shocked some in the tiny village of Foral, which boasts just a single restaurant, because he carried a weapon.
Lia Silva claimed Brueckner shocked some in the tiny village of Foral, which boasts just a single restaurant, because he carried a weapon
A neighbour said: 'Everyone was absolutely terrified when he was around'
'Everyone was absolutely terrified when he was around,' she said.
'I have been told that when he was here he had a gun that would always be in a holster around his waist.
'Lots of people were very put off by that and found it very intimidating. Back in 2007 you did not need a licence to carry a gun.'
Miss Silva urged the police to search her extensive grounds, now swarming with rescue dogs, in case Madeleine is buried there.
'I just want the parents to get some resolution,' she said.
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Brueckner was said to frequent the property when it was being used as a home for troubled teenagers under its previous tenant, a German woman.
Between 2007 and 2009 he would pitch up in the 100-property dusty hamlet, 40 miles from Praia da Luz, in his distinctive VW Westfalia camper van, residents said.
One neighbour, who said she 'instantly' recognised Brueckner and his van when images emerged on TV, urged police to track down the property's former tenants.
The German woman and an Italian man rented the property from Miss Silva for seven years until 2009.
The neighbour said that as well as troubled teenagers, the home was frequented by children. 'There were always little girls – small girls at the property,' she said.
It was also claimed yesterday that Brueckner gave underage girls drugs at woodland raves in return for sexual favours
The woman, a social worker, was supposed to be looking after the teens but suspicions were aroused by the company she kept, she added.
'There were a lot of strange people,' she said.
'This Christian arrived in 2007. They would hang around together and I didn't like the way they were.
'There was talk that he got a girl at the house pregnant and she ran away… It makes us think that what they were doing [with the children] was not good.'
It was also claimed yesterday that Brueckner gave underage girls drugs at woodland raves in return for sexual favours.
He is said to have peddled narcotics from his campervan near a hippy commune, four miles from Praia da Luz.
One former friend told how the German would openly give drugs to other people to sell for him.
The Portuguese woman said: 'He gave the girls weed [cannabis] and other things they wanted and in exchange they gave him sex because they didn't have money to pay for the drugs.
'It was a sort of payment in kind. That was the way they did things.'
