The lawyer of Madeline McCann suspect Christian Brueckner suffered serious injuries after a dog attack in Germany.

Friedrich Fuelscher suffered hand injuries after being mauled by his own dog last weekend while hunting for wild boar in the German countryside.

Fuelscher, who has been representing Brueckner in his ongoing sex crimes trial, was hospitalised after the incident.

Brueckner, who has previously been named as the key suspect in the disappearance of McCann is currently standing trial on unconnected sex crimes allegedly carried out in the Algarve, Portugal.

The 47-year-old is nearing the end of a seven-year prison term for raping an American pensioner in the Portuguese resort. If he is found not guilty, he could be freed from prison in the early part of next year.

Judge Ute Inse Engelmann issued a ruling which criticised the evidence of key witnesses in the case and, in a shock move, she overturned an arrest warrant for Brueckner.

She ruled the court had not heard strong enough evidence from witnesses to keep him behind bars.

It was a strong indication that Brueckner will be cleared of the charges he is facing. Prosecutors filed an application citing "concerns about bias". But a chamber of representatives refused their application earlier this month.

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Brueckner is accused of carrying out crimes in the Algarve between 2000 and 2017. They include the alleged rape of Irish tour rep Hazel Behan, who was attacked in her apartment Praia da Rocha in 2004.

He is also accused of raping a teenage girl in his Praia da Luz home and raping an elderly woman in her holiday apartment. He also faces a child sex charge for allegedly exposing himself to a German girl on a beach in Salema in April 2007.

The final charge relates to an alleged indecent exposure in front of an 11-year-old in 2017.

Prosecutors appear no closer to proving he was behind Madeleine’s disappearance, despite claiming they have proof she is dead.

Earlier this year, Madeleine McCann’s parents published a heartbreaking new message to mark the 21st birthday of their daughter.

Sharing a picture of the missing Briton on the official Find Madeleine McCann Campaign Facebook page, Kate and Gerry vowed never to give up looking