Holiday apartment where Madeleine McCann went missing goes on sale for £250,000

The apartment's British owner Ruth McCann - who is no relation to Madeleine's family - has put the property on the market with a local estate agent.

Potential buyers could begin viewing the the two-bedroom flat in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz from next week, according to a Portuguese newspaper.

For sale: The apartment in Praia da Luz where the McCanns were staying when Madeleine vanished has been put on the market for £250,000

The price is above the market average for the area despite its notoriety.

An estate agent told the newspaper 24 Horas that this is because it is being aimed at the British market.

Flat 5A at the Ocean Club holiday complex has two bedrooms, measures 90 metres squared and is 20 years old. It is 500 metres from the beach.

The McCann's had rented the flat from Mark Warner Holidays for around £1,500 for their one-week holiday in the Ocean Club complex.

Until now it has been owned by British woman Ruth McCann, a retired teacher, of Aigburth, Liverpool.

The 53-year-old was not available for comment  on Wednesday.

The estate agent, which has not been named, said: 'We should have the key by the end of this week. The owner is asking for £250,000 (300,000 euros) for the flat.'

Another apartment just one minute from the beach is currently on sale for less than half the price at £103,000 (127,500 euros).

Focus: Detectives on the flat's balcony in the days after Madeleine disappeared

The next door flat, where Kate and Gerry McCann's friends Matthew Oldfield and his wife Rachel were staying when Madeleine vanished, is also said to be on sale.

Case shelved: Portuguese police have given up looking for Madeleine, who vanished last May days before her fourth birthday

The apartment was used by holiday-makers for nearly two months after Madeleine disappeared before police sealed it off as a permanent crime scene.

It was crucial to the police investigation with forensic teams dusting the shutters and specialists taking DNA samples from furniture.

After the McCanns moved out, it remained empty for a month but was then made available to tourists last summer. It was later cordoned off in August last year.

Its sale comes weeks after the Portuguese authorities officially shelved the case and declared Mr and Mrs McCann to be entirely innocent.

They had been official 'arguidos' in the case since last September but always strenuously denied any involvement.

Robert Murat, the British ex-pat who was the first to be made an arguido in the case, was also cleared.

Police files released after the investigation was halted revealed scores of 'sightings' of Madeleine across Europe.

It was not clear to what extent they had been followed up by police, giving fresh hope of new leads which could help the McCanns discover what happened to their daughter.

So far, however, all appear to have been dead ends but the couple from Leicestershire, who are both GPs, have vowed never to give up their search.