FURIOUS Kate McCann is threatening legal action against social media users stealing extracts from the best seller book she wrote about missing daughter Madeleine.

The mum warns them: “It is illegal and you are violating copyright.”

Kate and Gerry McCann have been searching for their missing daughter Maddie since she disappeared in 2007
5

Kate and Gerry McCann have been searching for their missing daughter Maddie since she disappeared in 2007Credit: Getty Images

Three-year-old Maddie vanished from a holiday apartment in Portugal’s Praia da Luz in May 2007
5

Three-year-old Maddie vanished from a holiday apartment in Portugal’s Praia da Luz in May 2007Credit: PA:Press Association

In May 2011 Kate penned her memoirs “to give an account of the truth” and to help boost the dwindling public fund
5

In May 2011 Kate penned her memoirs “to give an account of the truth” and to help boost the dwindling public fundCredit: Getty Images
She has also hit out at claims she is cashing in on her daughter’s disappearance, saying: “For those posting that we are trying to make money, you are absolutely wrong.”

In a rare online reaction Maddie’s mum has vented her anger on a Facebook page promoting the hunt for her daughter.

The official Find Maddie Campaign is endorsed by ex GP Kate and heart doctor husband  Gerry of Rothley, Leics. All posts by the site’s un-named web chief, a mum who runs the site with a group of fellow supporters, are approved by the couple.

On Kate’s behalf she today  writes: “I would like to remind those who are sharing Kate’s book online, you are violating copyright law.

“Kate’s publisher has notified Facebook and other social media networks of the links and people engaging in this illegal activity.

“You risk having your Facebook account terminated and could face prosecution brought by the publisher. Downloading and sharing copyrighted material is illegal.”

The Webmaster urges campaigners: “If you see Kate’s book posted online out of the normal ways to purchase an e-book, please let us know.

“We will notify Kate’s publisher and they will have the links removed and determine if the person posting should be prosecuted.”

Kate, 49, and Gerry, 48, are bracing themselves for the painful milestone 10th anniversary of their daughter’s disappearance in less than seven weeks.

Three-year-old Maddie vanished from a holiday apartment in Portugal’s Praia da Luz in May 2007 while her parents were dining in a nearby tapas bar with pals.

They are clinging onto a glimmer of hope that Maddie, who would now be aged 13, nearly 14, would still be alive.

Maddie would now be aged 13, nearly 14
5

Maddie would now be aged 13, nearly 14Credit: PA:Press Association

Kate, 49, and Gerry, 48, are bracing themselves for the painful milestone 10th anniversary of their daughter’s disappearance in less than seven weeks
5

Kate, 49, and Gerry, 48, are bracing themselves for the painful milestone 10th anniversary of their daughter’s disappearance in less than seven weeksCredit: PA:Press Association
The McCann’s have recently been subjected to a cruel torrent of online abuse from minor celebrities and so-called criminal experts.

They spouted off after it was revealed Scotland Yard had been handed an extra £85,000 of taxpayers’ money to continue the Maddie hunt. So far the inquiry codenamed Operation Grange and set up in May 2011 has failed to unearth any new clues.

The Campaign Webmaster adds: “For those posting that we are trying to make money, you are absolutely wrong! By posting the book online, you are stealing from the publisher.

“Kate was given an advance for her book which was put into the fund. This isn’t about us making money. It’s about participating in an illegal activity and stealing from the publisher, which is punishable under the law. If you don’t want to purchase the book, that’s fine. Just don’t steal it!”

In May 2011 Kate penned her memoirs “to give an account of the truth” and to help boost the dwindling public fund set up to find her daughter.

New video of doomed Air India flight ‘shows Boeing 787 did lose power’ just before crash

The £20 book simply called “Madeleine” and published by Transworld, part of Bantam Press, was a huge success. It was serialised by The Sun newspaper.

It netted her £1million from sales which went straight into the Maddie pot.

In the forward to the 383-page hardback the anguished mum wrote: “The decision to publish this book has been very difficult, and taken with heavy hearts. Writing this memoir has entailed recording some very personal, intimate and emotional aspects of our lives. Sharing these with strangers does not come easily to me.”

The website states: Here’s where you can legally purchase Kate’s book. http://findmadeleine.com/campaigns/madeleine_book.html