British grandmother buys apartment Madeleine McCann vanished from in Praia da Luz for half the asking price

A British grandmother has bought the apartment in Portugal where Madeleine McCann vanished for half the asking price. 

Kathleen Macguire-Cotton, who is in her sixties, is believed to have bought the apartment in Praia da Luz on Portugal’s Algarve for just £113,000.

Identical properties in the Ocean Complex have been on sale for £255,000.

Mrs Macguire-Cotton revealed she is often offered money by passersby to see inside the flat, but has always declined requests out of respect.

The apartment's former British owner, Ruth McCann, had spent years trying to sell the two-bedroom flat unsuccessfully.

Some tour guides are known to run trips related to the toddler's disappearance around Praia da Luz, taking in the flat and the restaurant her parents were eating at on the fateful night when the three-year=old went missing.

She told The Sun: “I’ve been offered money by the whole world but I’m not interested.

“I don’t think that’s very fair to the McCann family or the people of Praia da Luz, upsetting everybody – it’s terrible.

“It happened a long time ago and I don’t have any opinions on it.”

Three-year-old Madeleine McCann went missing from the Portuguese resort in May 2007 while her parents Jerry and Kate went for a meal nearby with friends.

Police believe the toddler - who would now be 13 - was kidnapped after a bungled break-in.

The widow, from Southport, Merseyside said she stays in the property herself after buying it a number of years ago.

The grandmother told friends she plans to spend most of the year in the resort as part of her retirement plans.

Disappearance of Madeleine McCann