Nottingham couple Alan and Cindy Thompson 'to be quizzed' by Madeleine McCann case detectives

DETECTIVES investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann are set to interview a Nottingham couple who may have more information about the case, according to reports.

Alan and Cindy Thompson are due to be asked about ex-soldier Raymond Hewlitt, who is thought to have been staying 30 miles away from Praia da Luz, Portugal, when Madeleine disappeared in May 2007.

According to a national newspaper, Scotland Yard detectives want to speak to the couple, who Mr Hewlitt befriended during a holiday and who allegedly claimed that gypsies had approached him, asking to buy his children.

Mr Hewlitt, who died of throat cancer in 2010, told the couple that he refused to sell one of his six children to "gypsy tourists".

Cheap Van Insurance For 17,18 & 19 Year Old Drivers - Call...

Insure365

View details

Print voucher

Cheap Van Insurance For 17,18 & 19 Year Old Drivers - Call Insure365 01782 898188, Free Legal Expenses Cover Included Valued at £25.00!

Terms: 1 Voucher Per Customer

Contact: 01782 898188

Valid until: Saturday, June 22 2013

The Nottingham couple only discovered Hewlitt's criminal background – he was imprisoned three times for attacks on young girls – when they returned from holiday.

Officers from Scotland Yard are said to be investigating the movements of Mr Hewlitt in Portugal in May 2007, when Madeleine was on holiday with her parents, Gerry and Kate McCann, of Rothley, Leicestershire.

Scotland Yard declined to comment.