The parents of Madeleine McCann said yesterday they hope a renewed Portuguese police investigation into their daughter’s disappearance could lead to her finally being found.

Kate and Gerry McCann said in a statement that they are “very pleased” that Portuguese authorities have decided to reopen the inquiry into the little girl’s disappearance after new lines of inquiry emerged.

Madeleine, then aged three, vanished from a holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in May 2007 as her parents dined in a nearby tapas restaurant.

Portuguese police had originally shelved their investigation in 2008, but announced yesterday that the case would be re-started after an internal review of the original inquiry.

A review team was instructed in March 2011 to sift through the information that had been gathered, and their work uncovered new lines of inquiry that are being dealt with separately to those being chased by Scotland Yard as part of a British investigation.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who is leading the Scotland Yard team, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, and Mr and Kate McCann met officers in Lisbon last week to be briefed on the Portuguese case.

Rowley said: “This is a welcome development, but both sides of the investigation are at relatively early stages, with much work remaining to be done. This new momentum is encouraging, but we still have a way to go and, as with all major investigations, not all lines of inquiry that look promising will yield results.

Refreshed appeals were made last week as part of the British investigation, with Redwood appearing on television in the UK, Holland and Germany.

He revealed that his team had discounted a previous sighting by the McCanns’ friend Jane Tanner, which was thought to be an abductor carrying Madeleine away and had been put at the centre of the Portuguese investigation.

His team managed to track down the man – an innocent British holidaymaker – and instead decided to focus on a second suspect who was also seen with a child in his arms.

Officers also said they would like to trace a number of fair-haired men who were seen near the apartment at the time, and are looking at a surge in burglaries in the area as well as bogus charity collectors.

An appeal is due to air on Irish television later this month.