Kate and Gerry McCann have issued a fresh appeal for their missing daughter Madeleine as they faced the prospect of spending their third Christmas without her.

The newly released picture of missing Maddie

In a new message on the Find Madeleine website, the couple said: “There will be a spare place at the Christmas table again this year.

“If you know anything, do the right thing and helps us fill it.”

Doctors Kate and Gerry, both 41, also posted a photograph of Madeleine which was taken during Christmas 2006.

It shows the youngster at the family home in Rothley, Leicestershire, five months before she went missing from a holiday resort in Praia da Luz, Portugal.

She is pictured sitting on the floor, dressed in red, feeding a chocolate lollipop to her younger sister Amelie.

The couple said: “There is only one thing Madeleine wants this Christmas — and that’s to be back home.”

They urged: “If you know where she might be, please help.” The McCanns, whose youngster daughter and her twin brother Sean are now four, added: “All we want this Christmas is for Madeleine to be home.”