PA
Police are said to be investigating a possible sighting of missing Madeleine McCann on a plane flying from Ibiza to Munich.
German businessman Frank Bode, 42, took a picture of the young girl on board the flight who he claimed was British, resembled Madeleine, and was in the care of a German family.
He was so sure the girl was Madeleine that he contacted the police and was quizzed at length by Scotland Yard detective about the sighting.
Mr Bode first saw the girl at Ibiza airport earlier this month and said that his 'intuition' told him she 'could be Madeleine'.
"She didn't seem to fit with her family at all. Her father was clearly German, as were her two brothers - both around 10 to 12 years old - but her mother appeared to be British," he told The Sun, "They were all speaking German - except for the girl, who I heard speaking British English."
Mr Bode took a photo of the girl as he travelled with them on the bus ferrying passengers to the plane, and sat close to them on the two hour flight to Munich.
"The two boys were touching her strangely and the girl seemed out of place - nervous and stuttering," he alleged, adding "Her mother, who bore no resemblance to her, was a strange woman who didn't talk on the entire trip."
He said he subsequently showed his photo to some friends who agreed it could be Madeleine, who has been missing since disappearing from a holiday flat in Portugal in 2007.
Clarence Mitchell, spokesperson for Madeleine's parents said last night that Kate and Gerry were 'aware of this information, as are the British police'.
Scotland Yard confirmed they had received new information but said they would not be 'providing a running commentary on this case.'