Police investigating the disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann have received nearly 1,000 calls and e-mails following a fresh appeal for information.

There have been more than 730 calls and 212 e-mails as a result of “specific lines of inquiry” about the events leading up to and surrounding Madeleine’s abduction in Portugal on May 3, 2007, Scotland Yard said.

Her parents Kate and Gerry McCann said in a statement they were “absolutely delighted” with the “overwhelming” response.

Senior investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood said detectives are working through the calls and material generated by Monday night’s BBC Crimewatch programme.

He said: “We have now had... 330 calls to the Operation Grange incident room, 400 to BBC1 Crimewatch. Detectives are now trawling through and prioritising that material. This will take time.”

A reward of up to £20,000 (€23,677) is being offered for information leading to the identification, arrest and prosecution of those responsible for Madeleine’s abduction, he said.

Crimewatch editor Joe Mather said the response was “truly unprecedented”. Some callers had given the same name for a man spotted carrying a child towards the beach in Praia da Luz.

Viewers were shown two images of a dark-haired man, based on descriptions from two witnesses who were staying in the resort when the three-year-old went missing.