Stolen Madeleine photos returned to father

Precious photos of missing Madeleine McCann have been anonymously returned to her family almost two weeks after they were stolen from her father on a trip to London.

Gerry McCann, 39, was said to be delighted today at having two "irreplaceable" pictures of his abducted daughter back in his possession.

One picture is said to show Madeleine at 15 months old, while another was taken in church shortly before her disappearance on May 3.

The family had issued an appeal for their return after Mr McCann's wallet was taken by a pickpocket in Waterloo station hours after he arrived in the capital for a series of meetings about his global campaign to find his daughter.

At the time his sister described the theft as a "demoralising" sign of the times and urged the thief to do the right thing.

"I hope whoever took the wallet is so ashamed when they realise what they've just done that they get those pictures back to us as soon as possible," said Philomena McCann.

Following the appeal the wallet was posted to the McCanns' former house in Queniborough, Leicestershire, the address which was inside.

It was forwarded to their current home in nearby Rothley and then brought out to the couple in Praia da Luz, Portugal, by friends visiting at the weekend.

A postmark suggested it was sent from London on June 22, the day of the theft. Apart from a sum of sterling, everything else in the wallet - including Euros and his driving licence - was returned.

Brian Kennedy, Madeleine's great uncle, said Mr McCann was "pleased" the pictures had been recovered.

"Either someone with a conscience has realised who they had stolen it from and decided to return it, or it was discarded by the thief and sent to us by someone who found it," he said.

"I have spoken to Gerry and he is pleased. As far as I can tell, all the pictures that were in there of Madeleine are still there. It's a bit of good news, which we haven't had for some time."

In his daily blog on the official findmadeleine.com website Mr McCann wrote: "Our friends brought back my wallet which had been returned, needless to say minus the sterling, although all my cards and 30 euros were still in it!

"It is good to have my driving license back and one or two other important things," he wrote, referring to the photographs of his daughter who has now been missing for 60 days.

He also described the family's preparations to move out of the apartment complex where Madeleine was taken from her bed and find a more permanent base in the resort.

"We have confirmed our new accommodation and will be moving in the next few days," he wrote over the weekend, which was spent packing belongings into boxes.

"We seem to have acquired a lot more stuff, particularly the twins with lots of well wishers sending them toys."

The move represents a new stage for the McCann family following the abduction of their daughter almost two months ago. They have expressed a desire to step out of the media spotlight and provide a more stable environment for their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.

The couple reiterated their vow to stay in Portugal to be close to the police investigation and said they will not consider returning home to England without their daughter.

"We will be staying on Portugal for the immediate future and are determined to come home with Madeleine," said Mr McCann in his blog.

"Staying in the Algarve also makes it easier to stay in touch with the Portuguese police, this is particularly important with the investigation being so active. We have regular meetings and calls to keep abreast of developments," he said.

Portuguese police admitted on Friday they were no closer to finding Madeleine but had not ruled out links of her abduction with a couple accused of attempting to extort the £2.4 million reward money offered for her safe return.

Italian Danilo Chemello, 61, and his Portuguese girlfriend Aurora Pereira Vaz, 54, who were arrested by Spanish police on Thursday after a dawn raid on their home in the exclusive resort of Sotogrande on the Costa del Sol, are expected in court in the nearby town of San Roque tomorrow morning (MON).

The pair, who between them have a history of previous convictions ranging from child abuse to firearms offences, have also been investigated for international child trafficking and running an illegal trade in human eggs and sperm.

It is thought that the two are fraudsters who had attempted to contact the McCann family several times claiming to know the whereabouts of their daughter in a bid to claim the reward money.