Kathleen Macguire-Cotton said she has been staying in the property herself after secretly buying it years ago

THE apartment Madeleine McCann vanished from has been sold to a British gran for half the asking price.

Apartment 5a at the Ocean Complex in Praia da Luz on Portugal’s Algarve had been on sale for £255,000 – £50,000 less than identical properties nearby.

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Apartment 5a at the Ocean Complex in Praia da Luz sold for just £113kCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
But property records obtained by The Sun reveal the white-painted ground floor flat has now been sold to widow Kathleen Macguire-Cotton for just £113,000.

Mrs Macguire-Cotton, in her 60s, said she has been staying in the property herself after secretly buying it years ago and is not advertising it as a holiday let.

And she vowed never to let in snoopers who still stop by and peer inside the holiday home from where three-year-old Maddie vanished in May 2007.

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Three-year-old Maddie vanished there in May 2007Credit: PA:Press Association
Kathleen, from Southport, Merseyside said: “I’ve stayed in that apartment for years and bought it years and years ago.”

Asked whether she would allow in Maddie sightseers, she told The Sun: “I’ve been offered money by the whole world but I’m not interested.

“I don’t think that’s very fair to the McCann family or the people of Praia da Luz, upsetting everybody – it’s terrible.

“It happened a long time ago and I don’t have any opinions on it.”

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Kathleen Macguire-Cotton said she has been staying in the property after secretly buying it years agoCredit: Jim Clarke

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Madeleine vanished after being left in the property while her parents Gerry and Kate went for a tapas meal nearbyCredit: AP:Associated Press
Former British owner Ruth McCann – no relation – spent years trying to sell the smart two-bed flat close to a pool and restaurants.

But prospective buyers ran a mile when they learned its dark history.

Madeleine vanished after being left in the unsecured property while her parents Gerry and Kate went for a tapas meal nearby with friends.

Her parents and British police believe the tot – who would now be 13 – was kidnapped after a bungled break-in.

But Portuguese authorities initially declared Kate and Gerry, from Rothley, Leics as suspects and continued to point the finger in appeal judgements issued last week.

Sick tour guides have been running Madeleine McCann trips around Praia da Luz which take in the flat and the tapas restaurant.

Mrs Macguire-Cotton told friends she plans living in the apartment most of the year as part of her sunshine retirement plans.

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Sick tour guides have been running Madeleine McCann trips around Praia da Luz which take in the flatCredit: PA:Press Association

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As well as the tapas bar where her parents dined
Ruth McCann said before selling when she decided to take the property off the market in 2011: “The property has had several viewings.

“But as soon as women buyers are told it was the apartment that Madeleine was taken from they immediately pull out.

“A lot of couples have shown an interest. The man usually makes the first approach and a meeting with the estate agent is arranged.

“But before agents show people round a property in Portugal, they are required to tell them about previous owners.

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But the buyer vowed never to let in snoopers who still stop by and peer inside the holiday homeCredit: Jim Clarke

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The McCanns are preparing a fresh court fight after Portugal’s Supreme Court quashed their 2015 libel win against an ex-cop
“As soon as the female member of the viewing couple learns about the link with the McCann family, she says ‘no’ to the deal.

“Women are concerned that the flat will continuously remind them of Maddie’s tragic disappearance.”

Retired teacher Mrs McCann ended up asking the Ocean Club to let it to holidaymakers again in the spring of 2011 after giving up trying to sell it.

But bookings were so slow they did not cover the cost of her outgoings on the property.

The tour guide organising trips to the apartment and other spots linked to the Madeleine McCann case has defended his business.

The unnamed organiser, who writes a blog called “Shining in Luz”, said he was just “trying to progress the case.”

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It ruled Goncalo Amaral was entitled to claim in a book that Madeleine died in the holiday apartmentCredit: PA:Press Association

He wrote: “Luz Tours are for people with considerable expertise in the Madeleine McCann case.

“I don’t think there is a way to commercialise Luz Tours and I wouldn’t want to even if it was possible.”

Gerry and Kate will fight Portugal’s recent Supreme Court judgement backing ex police chief Goncalo Amaral over his 2008 book “The Truth of the Lie.”

The court said he was was entitled to claim in the book that Madeleine died in the holiday apartment and the couple faked her abduction to cover up the tragedy.

Judges overturned the couple’s 2015 libel win against the ex-detective, leaving them facing a huge legal bill and the prospect of being sued by him.