In a whirlwind month, the fund set up by a young single mother from Birmingham to support former “Maddie cop” Gonçalo Amaral in his appeal over record damages awarded against him in a civil case taken out by the parents of Madeleine McCann has reached its £25,000 target.

A total of 1,555 people have raised the money, giving multiple messages of encouragement.

And in Portugal, the Project Justiça Goncalo Amaral blogsite has acknowledged the huge boost to its ongoing efforts.

But the truth is that “quite a bit more money is needed” Leanne Baulch, the 22-year-old behind the gofundme appeal set up in UK told us.

“I think what is needed is around £40,000,” she told us this morning, against the background noise of her toddler daughter yodelling “Hello!” into the Skype microphone.

“I want to keep this going,” she explained.

As we spoke, Leanne’s initial target had already been surpassed by £375.

Meantime, the PJGA website in Portugal has itemised all monies received so far to help the former police inspector finance his appeal against damages that would see him forced to pay the McCanns over €500,000 - money he has always explained he does not have.

According to the PJGA’s latest posting, the £25,000 raised by Leanne’s appeal has been boosted by €5,643 raised via PayPal along with a further $90 dollars.

The site affirms that all the money will be going to “cover expenses related to the defence of Gonçalo Amaral with regard to the civil action presented by the McCann family”, and it adds that a new message will follow when an appeal has been presented.

The saga centring on the McCann’s distress over Amaral’s book The Truth of the Lie has been ongoing for almost six years - with the couple maintaining that Amaral’s theory that they faked their daughter’s abduction caused them “devastation, desperation, anxiety and pain”.