Mystery caller spurs on the hunt for Madeleine

The search for Madeleine McCann gained fresh momentum yesterday after a mystery caller claiming to know what had happened to the missing girl was deemed by British Police to be so "credible" that they prepared her parents for the prospect of speaking to him.

Kate and Gerry McCann delayed their flight from Berlin's Tempelhof Airport to Amsterdam after the anonymous call and spent an agonising three hours at the British Embassy in Berlin while officers attempted to re-establish with the man. His call was traced to an unregistered pay-as-you-go phone from a country outside Europe.

An emergency contingency plan was also drawn up, which involved the McCanns flying back to their local East Midlands airport and being met by a specialist team of advisers to oversee their talks with the source.

But efforts to re-establish contact with the caller failed and the McCanns were finally advised to proceed to Amsterdam as planned. They left for Amsterdam's Schipol Airport three hours late.

The nationality of the caller was not clear but his call is believed to have been received by police in Spain.

The call is not thought to have been made from Morocco, where a previous possible sighting of Madeleine was reported.

- INDEPENDENT