'We take no pleasure in this verdict

KATE and Gerry McCann say they “take no pleasure” after a woman claiming to be their missing daughter Madeleine was convicted of harassing them.

- BY CHARLIE BRADLEY

The couple added that they “only wanted the harassment to stop”.

Julia Wandelt, 24, was found guilty yesterday after a court heard she turned up at the McCanns’ home, sending sinister letters and messages and repeatedly begging for a DNA test.

The Polish national was cleared of the more serious charge of stalking.

Wandelt was sentenced to six months in prison, which she has already served having been in custody since February, and faces deportation.

She was also made the subject of an indefinite restraining order, with a judge telling her she poses a “significant risk of the harassment of the McCanns”. The McCanns’ statement read: “We take no pleasure in the result. Like most people, we did not want to go through a court process and only wanted the harassment to stop.

“The decision to prosecute was taken by the Crown Prosecution Service, based on the evidence gathered by the police.