Madeleine's parents hit by £1.4m hoax

The parents of Madeleine McCann yesterday condemned an 'outrageous' attempt to defraud them of £1.4 million.

Kate and Gerry McCann said they had been caused 'considerable distress' by a Dutchman who claimed to know the whereabouts of their missing four-year-old daughter and her abductors.

The unemployed 39-year-old, who has not been named, demanded a huge payment in return for the information.

But after the McCanns alerted the authorities, Dutch police traced the source of the emails and arrested the man in Eindhoven on Wednesday.

He confessed that his claims were a hoax and that he had no genuine information about Madeleine's whereabouts.

There is a £2.5million reward for her safe return.

Consultant cardiologist Mr McCann, 39, said: "This extortion attempt has caused Kate and I considerable distress.

"We would like to thank the Dutch police for treating this seriously and directing their resources into investigating this outrageous crime."

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It is the second time the McCanns - whose daughter was snatched from her bed in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz on May 3 - have been subjected to a cruel hoax.

Last month police swooped on an Italian man and a Portuguese woman on suspicion of trying to extort money from the family in a similar manner.

The latest attempt began on June 14, when the fraudster sent the first of six emails to the McCanns after getting their address from the Find-Madeleine website.

It came just a few days after the couple, from Rothley in Leicestershire, visited Holland as part of a Europe-wide trip to raise attention about their missing daughter.

The suspect appeared before a court in Rotterdam yesterday charged with attempted fraud, which carries a maximum of four years in jail.

A spokesman for the Dutch prosecutor's office said: "He said that out of boredom he had started to play with the feelings of Madeleine's parents.

"Money was probably his motive although he claims he did not really expect to get it."