Investigators leading the search for Madeleine McCann reportedly believe an Algarve village where prime suspect Christian Bruecker lived could hold vital clues to help solve the case.

Bruecker, a convicted rapist, stayed in the Villa Bianca in the village of Foral in the months after Madeleine disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Praia de Luz in 2007. 

It is understood the village, a 50-minute drive away from Praia de Luz, could be searched again by cops in the hopes it will 'throw up fresh leads'.