Woman, from Berkshire, says Christian Brueckner was ‘charming’ when they first met but turned ‘possessive’ and flew into jealous rage when she hugged another man

The British ex-girlfriend of Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner has claimed he violently attacked her because she hugged another man.

The 45-year-old woman said the German flew into a jealous rage at the bar where she worked in the Algarve, Portugal, in 2005, repeatedly slamming her head against the wall of the women’s toilets.

She told The Mirror she returned home hours later to find Brueckner, now 43, lying under the bed waiting for her after breaking into her flat through a window.

The woman, from Berkshire, who has not been named, said she believed he was hoping to catch her with another man but, on finding her alone, simply stared at her, said “goodbye” and left — before subjecting her to a stalking campaign.

Last week, German police announced a 43-year-old German paedophile was being investigated over three-year-old Madeleine McCann’s disappearance 13 years ago.

The suspect has been named in reports as Brueckner — who is in prison on drug offences and was reportedly convicted for the 2005 rape of a 72-year-old American woman in Portugal last year.

Police said their suspect lived regularly in the Algarve between 1995 and 2007 — the year Madeleine vanished from her family’s holiday apartment in nearby Praia da Luz.

Madeleine’s mother Kate went to check on her during a meal with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant but found the window open and her oldest daughter missing from her bed.

Phone records allegedly show Brueckner received a call near the McCanns’ holiday apartment about an hour before Madeleine vanished.

Handout picture taken in 2018 shows German Christian Brueckner when he was arrested for drug trafficking in Italy.(Italian Carabinieri)

German authorities have previously said they believe Madeleine is dead and are investigating the suspect on suspicion of murder.

Hans Christian Wolters, a German state prosecutor in Braunschweig, has claimed police in Portugal still believe Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry killed her, according to The Telegraph.

Brueckner’s British ex-girlfriend, who moved to the Algarve in 2003, said it was “chilling” and “sickening” to think he could have been involved with Madeleine’s disappearance.

The woman said the German was “softly-spoken” when they met and could be “very charming” and “very smooth in the way he talked” — but later turned “possessive” and violent.

She said their sex life was “normal” and that she didn’t see any signs of him being interested in children when they were together.

According to German officials, their suspect has been sentenced “on numerous occasions to prison terms for sexual abuse of children in the past”.