Kate and Gerry in moving plea

Kate and Gerry McCann yesterday revealed money is running out to fund their desperate search for missing daughter Madeleine.

As the couple have retreated from the limelight, so contributions to a kitty which once topped £2million are drying up.

There is now less than £300,000 in the Find Madeleine fund and the desperate parents are publicly seeking donations for the first time since their little girl vanished on May 3, 2007.

Gerry said: "There was a huge amount of money put into the search but at this point we are asking people - if they are happy to do so - to donate to the fund."

Kate added: "We were fortunate enough that people donated, which enabled us to search for Madeleine.

"Without the fund nobody at all would be looking for Madeleine, so we are obviously grateful for that."

A letter written by Gerry will be sent out today to friends and celebrity supporters including David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Sir Richard Branson and JK Rowling.

Madeleine vanished while on a family holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal.

Her parents yesterday also launched an online petition calling on the UK and Portuguese government to carry out a joint review of the case.

Kate hit out at the ConDem coalition for failing to follow on from a review ordered by former Home Secretary Alan Johnson.

Having spoken with current Home Secretary Theresa May, the mum said: "Certainly when we met they hadn't read it."

Kate and Gerry, both 42, held hands throughout a first UK press interview in three years. They spoke movingly of their five-year-old twins Sean and Amelie - now two years older than Madeleine was when she vanished.

Kate said: "They talk about when Madeleine comes back and know we are still looking to find her.

"We went to a school service recently and they were asked how many brothers and sisters they have. Sean said, 'I have two sisters' and Amelie said, 'I have a sister and a brother'.

That was lovely." Gerry added: "They know we're in meetings and going to Portugal and spending time when we're not with them trying to find their sister. We cannot accept Madeleine is dead without concrete evidence she is."

Kate said: "I still see Madeleine's friends.

"I imagine Madeleine being that tall, that slim. She is out there alive and to give up on her, I just can't get my head round that. I still talk to her every day."