A MOVING song penned by a Wearside musician for missing tot Madeleine McCann has gone soaring to the top of the charts.

Warehouse worker Nigel Graham first set a heartfelt poem to music in 2008, a year after little Madeleine went missing.

Now the stirring plea to her kidnapper is in the top five of social networking site Twitter’s Tweet My Song chart.

We’re Still Looking for You Madeleine has received thousands of hits from eager fans, who can either listen to the song or download it for free.

It features a young girl called Katie singing a poem by Janet Marie James, a campaigner hoping to keep the search for Madeleine in the spotlight. Nigel met Janet through video clip sharing site You Tube.

The 42-year-old, from High Usworth in Washington, said: “It’s a free song I composed to help raise awareness for the Madeleine McCann campaign.

“I wanted to help them out, so I composed a song to remind the public every time they hear Madeleine’s song that she still needs their help.

“Now four years on it’s gone to number one in Twitter’s Tweet My Song charts.

“It’s had 84,000 hits and the version on Twitter is the children’s version of the song.

“The poem was done by You-Tuber Janet Marie James and the main vocals in this version was done by a girl called Katie.”

Self-taught musician Nigel, who has also recorded an anthem for the 2012 Olympics, has passed his ode on to Madeleine’s friends and family.

He admits he has no idea why his song has soared to popularity years after it was written.

But he hopes its global success will play a part in helping to find the youngster.

“I think people just like the song. The people in U.S. love it.

“It’s my song of hope for Madeleine and it carries a important message - kids should be able to go on holiday free of fear and build sandcastles and splash in the sea, having the time of their lives.

“One day my song for Madeleine will reach a part of the world where someone holds key information. They will hear the music and words and hopefully do the right thing.

“I emailed the Find Madeleine team and they think it’s amazing. They are over the moon.

“I still have hopes of finding Madeleine one day. The song keeps the message out there we will never stop searching.”

* Madeleine McCann disappeared in May 2007.

She was on holiday with her parents and twin siblings in the Algarve region of Portugal.

She went missing from an apartment, in the central area of the resort of Praia da Luz, a few days before her fourth birthday.

Madeleine’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, both doctors, admitted that they left the children unsupervised while they ate at a restaurant around 100 metres away.

Despite investigations by British and Portuguese police and private investigators, Madeleine has still not been found.

The McCanns were declared suspects at one point and have since criticised police.

Madeleine’s disappearance remains one of the most high-profile missing child cases in Europe.