THE holiday apartment where Madeleine McCann was kidnapped is being used by families for the first time since her abduction four years ago.

A couple and their young child were seen at the weekend in the ground-floor flat, which has been empty since Maddie disappeared aged three.

A British tourist at the Ocean Complex resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal, said: "I saw a young family staying in the apartment, enjoying their holiday.

"They didn't seem to have a care in the world, and if I hadn't known of the flat's history, I wouldn't have given it a second look." The apartment's British owner, retired Liverpool teacher Ruth McCann, 57, has been trying to sell it for £255,000 since Maddie's abduction.

Mrs McCann - no relation to Maddie's family - took the two-bedroom flat off the market last May after finding no one was interested because of its background. She was now believed to be letting it again to holidaymakers.

Maddie disappeared from her bedroom in May 2007 while her parents, Leicestershire doctors Gerry and Kate, were dining with friends at a nearby restaurant.