Madeleine: Police's 2am raid on pensioner

Police hunting for Madeleine McCann launched a 2am raid on the South London home of an innocent woman in her 70s.

Officers acting on behalf of Portuguese police have targeted at least two properties in South London with similar addresses - both have the same house number and road name and are less than five miles apart.

News of the searches came after Portugal's Policia Judiciaria said they were following leads from psychics and clairvoyants.

It is understood they are clutching to the hope that Madeleine's abductor might pose as someone with psychic powers so that he could free her, tell police of a vision identifying where she could be found - and avoid detection.

There was no sign at either address of Madeleine, who was taken from the holiday apartment of her parents Gerry and Kate in the Algarve on May 3.

British police would not confirm if some of these leads were being passed on and it is not known if the London searches were due to such a tip.

Within the space of 12 hours, officers raided a Thirties former council house in Merton Road, Wandsworth, and a home in Merton Road, South Norwood, last Wednesday.

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Police declined to comment but the fact that they checked near-identical addresses suggests they had been given precise information.

The elderly woman, who declined to give her name, said: "Two policemen banged on my door at about 2am. I wasn't too happy about it but they said they were here because of the missing girl. They were here for about 15 minutes."

Also searched was the home of Debbie Seepersad, 40, who lives with her 12-year-old daughter Maressa. "I really thought it was a wind-up and I'm still in shock,' she said.

A Leicestershire Police spokesman said: "Our role is to co-ordinate UK-based inquiries at the request of the Portuguese authorities. We have worked with forces across the country to undertake a number of inquiries on behalf of the Portuguese."

Belgian police are investigating a reported sighting of Madeleine in Liege.

Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa, the Portuguese officer in charge of the hunt, said: "We just follow the information passed to us. If there's enough detail to allow us to follow it, for example if there's a name or a location, then we will follow it up."

Mr and Mrs McCann have spoken of their hope that the four-year-old is in the hands of someone 'sad' rather than 'bad'.