Sympathy from the parents of murdered Jo Yeates for Kate and Gerry McCann.

David and Teresa Yeates said they felt 'lucky' that at least they were able to give their daughter a funeral.

Mr. Yeates said: 'We really feel for those people who have not been able to bury their children.

'We keep reminding ourselves that in some way we are, we are loath to use the word, but 'lucky'.? The McCanns are one set of people like this, but there are others as well.

'I can't imagine what it must be like not to be able to bury their children, or to have to bury some bones discovered years later.'

The McCanns responded in a statement: 'We are very grateful to David and Teresa Yeates for keeping us in their thoughts at such a painful time for their own family. While the anguish of not knowing what has happened to Madeleine is truly awful, we, of course, still have hope that our ongoing search for our daughter will lead to her being found alive.

' Recent cases such as that of Carlina White in the USA, reunited with her family after being abducted as a baby some 23 years ago, only serve to renew our resolve to never give up. It again proves that hope is not unfounded.

'We would ask anyone who has any information about Madeleine to get in touch with their local police immediately or contact our private investigators via www.findmadeleine.com'