THE lawyer of the only suspect for the disappearance of Madeleine McCann today criticised her parents' "strange" behaviour in leaving her alone on the night she vanished.

Francisco Pagarete also claimed people in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz, where Madeleine went missing on May 3, wanted "these b***** McCanns" to go back home to England.

Kate and Gerry McCann have come under increasing pressure from the Portuguese media.

Newspapers have reported that detectives now believe four-year-old Madeleine was not abducted but died in their holiday flat on the night she disappeared.

Mr Pagarete, who has known sole suspect Robert Murat since childhood, said it was "not normal" for parents to leave their children alone in a foreign country.

The McCanns left their three children asleep in their holiday flat on May 3 while they ate with friends at a nearby restaurant but checked them regularly.

The couple have strongly defended their judgment, saying it was safe to leave the children alone.

Mr Pagarete also said: "People in Praia da Luz say These b***** McCanns should just go away and leave this town. They are giving it a bad name'."

He said local residents were suffering financially because of the dip in tourism following Madeleine's disappearance.