Madeleine McCann turns four on Saturday. Photo / Reuters

Madeleine McCann turns four on Saturday. Photo / Reuters

Portuguese worshippers in the holiday village of Praia da Luz rallied on Sunday in an emotional show of support for the English couple whose infant daughter is missing.

Special prayers were held for three year old Madeleine McCann during a Mother's Day service in the local church, with her parents Kate and Gerrry McCann, who are Roman Catholics, in the congregation.

But there were recriminations in the Portugese media over the police's handling of the investigation in the first few hours after Madeleine's disappearance.

The Portugese daily newspaper, Diario de Noticias, claimed that border police were not told that a child had been kidnapped until about midday on Friday, more than 12 hours after Madeleine was reported missing.

As a member of the EU, Portugal has no border controls with Spain, and motorists can cross from one country to the other unchecked.

The newspaper claimed that proper procedure would have been for Portugal's Judicial Police - the local equivalent of CID - to have tipped off the country's Borders and Aliens Service as soon as they knew that a child had been kidnapped.

Another paper, Correio de Manha, said the main border crossing from the Portuguese Algarve to Spain had no special controls in place whatsoever until Saturday afternoon.

But the Portugese police believe that Madeleine is being held close to where she was kidnapped, and that she is alive.

About 150 officers were continuing the search for her yesterday.

In the village church, the priest, Rev Jose Manuel Pachedo, announced in English that there would be a prayer for Madeleine, and her family.

Mrs McCann, who was in tears, was presented with a bunch of roses, marking Mother's Day, by a 14-year-old altar girl, Emily Seromenho.

At the end of the service, a line of elderly women approached the McCanns to hug and kiss them.

The couple were soon surrounded by a crowd of 30 well wishers, including children, many in tears.

Pictures of Madeleine have been fixed to copies of the church notices whichwere distributed to the congregation by children before the service, and a large photograph was pinned to the wall in front of the building.

A message on the notices said: "We are united with the family of the child who disappeared on the night of May 3rd."