Madeleine McCann posters are ripped off walls in Algarve

VANDALS have torn down Madeleine McCann posters put up as part of a new appeal for clues in the Algarve resort where she disappeared.

The attacks have been blamed on locals who have voiced criticism of the McCanns' new campaign for information on their daughter's whereabouts.

The fresh appeal is focused on the area where Madeleine, then three, went missing on 3 May 2007 during a family holiday.

About 10,000 leaflets are being handed out and posted through letterboxes in Praia da Luz and the nearby towns of Lagos and Burgau.

Resident Maria Afonso said: "It's stupid to think this campaign will bring Madeleine back two years after she disappeared. It's just sullying the reputation of the Algarve."