Inside Madeleine suspect's hideout

Dangerous Brueckner housed among families

- By Richard Ashmore

THIS is the spartan bolthole Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner was sprung from by police yesterday after parents realised he was living yards from their kids.

The German, 49, was escorted from the flat where he had been housed since serving seven years for raping a 72-year-old woman in Portugal.

His location in the city of Neumunster, northern Germany, was shared on a local WhatsApp group.

Paedophile Brueckner - who rejected a formal request from the Met Police to talk to them following his release — was housed in the spartan flat by a local council.

It is understood he had not left for four days before 15 police officers in three vans took him away. But children played near his lair and authorities say he remains dangerous.

A recent psychiatric report concluded he is likely to commit further crimes after he refused therapy in custody.