Stuck in an unbearable limbo for 18 years... but still hoping to see their girl again

THE Union Jack flags are out in Rothley ahead of next week's VE Day 80th anniversary celebrations.

- MARTIN FRICKER

But before the street parties and the sing-songs, locals here have a more sombre date to mark - today.

It is one they have observed for 18 painful years, ever since Madeleine McCann vanished on this day in 2007.

She had travelled from her family home in the village with parents Kate and Gerry and twin siblings Sean and Amelie for a sunshine break in Portugal.

But horror struck when three-yearold Madeleine disappeared from their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz.

Her parents, both doctors, were dining with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant when she vanished.

SADNESS

It sparked a worldwide media frenzy that thrust the Leicestershire village into the spotlight.

While the McCanns faced criticism for leaving their children alone in the apartment, frequent checks notwithstanding, Rothley locals remained staunchly behind them.

Hundreds turned out to lay yellow and green ribbons at the village war memorial on the first anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance.

And they have done so ever since, nearly always joined by Kate and Gerry, who still live in Rothley.

The couple, who are both keen runners and cyclists, are seen out and about in the village most days.

Their twins, now 20, both attended the local school and have gone on to university.

In the early days of Madeleine's disappearance, the world's media camped at the end of the family's quiet cul-de-sac.