A fund started by Madeleine's family raised more than £2m

The hunt for Madeleine McCann cost Leicestershire Police more than £500,000, it has been revealed.

Madeleine was aged almost four when she vanished from a holiday flat in Praia da Luz, southern Portugal, in May 2007.

Leicestershire Police became involved in the case as the home force of her parents, Kate and Gerry.

The force spent £548,477 in 2007-08, but a Home Office grant covered most of this. Officers declined to detail expenses for operational reasons.

The Policia Judiciaria - Portugal's CID - led the investigation into Madeleine's disappearance which saw Mr and Mrs McCann named as "arguidos", or formal suspects.

Family hunt

British officers, headed by Det Supt Stuart Prior of the Leicestershire force, conducted interviews of witnesses in the UK and passed possible sightings of Madeleine on to their Portuguese colleagues.

Leicestershire Police released the information after a Freedom of Information request but refused to provide a breakdown of where the money was spent, saying it would have revealed "operational, investigative and law enforcement techniques".

In July last year the Portuguese attorney-general shelved the investigation and lifted the McCanns' arguido status.

The McCanns have said they will believe Madeleine is alive until given clear evidence to the contrary and have spent hundreds of thousands of pounds from a fund in their efforts to find her.