The family of an ex-girlfriend of Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner has told police her remains may be found in their former garden.

Dieter F, a hospital minibus driver, has twice given evidence to German detectives in the case of the missing British toddler.

He believes remains of Madeleine may be found in the garden of the former rented home of his daughter on the Algarve.

Brueckner, who is currently on trial for five sex offences in Portugal, kept a compound with dogs behind the large detached villa in Foral, less than 45 minutes drive away from where Maddie went missing in 2007.

Brueckner is standing trial in Germany of five counts of sexual assault in Portugal between 2000 and 2017, unrelated to investigations into McCann’s disappearance. The 47 year old denies involvement in the McCann case and has never been charged.

Dieter told The Olive Press that Brueckner said he had a hiding place in his winnebago large enough to "hide a small child'".

He said: "I’ve twice told the BKA police they must dig up the garden and home. Unfortunately, I think she is responsible and getting easy money is everything to her.”

His daughter, a mother-of-three, based in Schweinfurt, has been interviewed four times by police over Brueckner’s movements at the time. Dieter and wife Corinne, revealed they are "convinced" she is involved in the Maddie case. When they tried to contact her over it, they claim she got "very angry."

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Meanwhile, the current owner of the home, Villa Bianca, Lia Silva said she would welcome the police coming to search there.

She told reporters last year: "I’ve always said it’s important to try and solve this case once and for all and if that means bringing in diggers fair enough."

Silva added that her former tenant and her "various boyfriends" were nothing but "trouble" saying that she left owing a lot of money in rent and the place was left in a "total mess."

Prosecutor Hans Christian Wolters said: “We gave the info from Dieter to the Portuguese police but I don’t know if they are going to do anything. We can only ask them. If they want to do it they do it, if they don’t, they don’t. We can’t go on our own.

He added: "I can’t confirm how many times we have spoken to this lady but it is various times. She is a witness in the Maddie case but I can’t say how important."

In the trial, former friend Michael Tatschl, 50, gave evidence saying Brueckner had installed a "chest height" iron ring at his farmhouse, to which he tied the teenager "for days", forcing her to perform sexual acts before eventually letting her go.

The trial of Christian Brueckner continues this week.