INFO IS CREDIBLE

Tip-off from trusted source sparked probe. Bid to find a trace of her Eeyore pyjamas

-  MARTIN FRICKER

THE Madeleine McCann search at a reservoir in Portugal was sparked by information from a "very credible" source.

The tip-off was reportedly given by an informer registered with the German equivalent of the FBI.

Officers following up what prosecutors have described as "concrete clues" are reportedly searching for any fragments of the pink Eeyore M&S pyjamas Madeleine was wearing when she vanished in May 2007.

The search area at the remote reservoir is the size of a football pitch.

By early evening yesterday, officers were focusing their search on a 50ft by 50ft clearing in a wooded area alongside the water.

Police placed paper evidence bags into a German-registered truck. A remote-controlled green rotavator was also taken to the reservoir to help clear scrubland.

Officers, some with sniffer dogs, hunted for evidence using spades, rakes and large sticks.

Several small trees were cut down with a chainsaw to improve access to the search area. A no-fly zone remained in place.

The prime suspect in the case German paedophile Christian Brueckner - was a frequent visitor to the site in his VW campervan.

The area, which Brueckner called his "little paradise", is a 40-minute drive from Praia da Luz, the Algarve town where Madeleine vanished from her family's holiday apartment.