A bag of clothes containing DNA linked to Madeleine McCann has been discovered dumped by a road in Portugal.

The white carrier bag was discovered in a layby two weeks ago near Faro airport, according to a report in the News of the World.

Kate and Gerry McCann have since been informed of its contents.

The bag is believed to contain a blue fleece jacket and a pair of adult jeans with traces of DNA which may have come from Maddie.

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It was also said to contain a shower curtain.

Other items recovered from the bag included a white flannel, a green elastic band, a light green child's T-shirt with a green flower on the front and a pink and blue pencil case with a pink heart motif.

The DNA samples were not an exact match but were thought to show a "moderate" link to the missing four-year-old.

A source said: "The bag could be crucial. The DNA isn't an exact match to Maddie's, but it does link.

"It is the first clue found outside the apartment complex and could provide a trail."

The bag, which was found by a passer-by, was sent to a UK lab in Birmingham for forensic tests.

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A leaked report showed experts concluded the clothes contained bodily fluid and traces of hair that could have come from Maddie.

The jeans contained more than 60 different stains.

The report concluded: "The blue fleece and jeans were found to contain traces of congealed skin and hair.

"They were found to contain DNA characteristics that could be attributed to Madeleine McCann." No traces of Maddie's DNA were found on any of the other items.

 

The fresh clues will give Kate and Gerry, both 39, renewed hope of finding their daughter alive six months after she disappeared.

A friend of the McCanns said: "It potentially suggests that someone has taken her then disposed of the clothing.

"They have done it near Faro which could imply they have gone in the direction of the airport. It backs up the idea she was abducted."

Maddie disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in Portuguese resort Praia da Luz on
May 3, just days before her fourth birthday.