Madeleine McCann suspect was questioned over hit-and run theory

A woman has spoken out after being questioned over a hit-and-run theory in the Madeleine McCann investigation.

The German woman was grilled by Portuguese and British police seven years ago when their initial investigation examined whether the three-year-old left the family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz and was knocked down by a passing car.

But a short while later, Christian B - a paedophile and convicted sex offender - was named as the prime suspect. In a matter of days, he will be released from prison in Germany after serving a sentence for the 2005 rape of an elderly woman in the same town that Madeleinedisappeared from.

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Portugal's Correio da Manha reported on the hit-and-run-theory in June, claiming that the investigation didn't go anywhere because German police refused to deploy an undercover officer to befriend the woman.

According to Sky News, who tracked down the unnamed woman, she was completely unaware that she was the subject of an investigation.

On the day of Madeleine's disappearance, she claims she had been working at a beach restaurant in the resort town. When she returned home, police were already searching for the British toddler, she said.

"I don't even know if there was a car accident, because I was working," she said. "I came home at half ten, and my boyfriend was home already."

Her British partner worked as a chef at the Ocean Club which was frequented by the McCanns. Like the homes of many residents of the town, their home was searched in the days after Madeleine's disappearance.

During a second search, the woman recalled becoming angry when cops asked her to empty her freezer. She said she asked an officer: "Do you think I've cut her up in little pieces and I'm going to have her for dinner?"

More than a decade later, she says she was contacted by German police again. However, they only asked her if she knew the prime suspect, or had seen him in the vicinity of the little girl's apartment.

She said: "They wanted to know if I ever saw this German bloke around this area where I was living for a long time. Other people obviously saw his van, but I never saw it."

Over more than a year, she says she was contacted by a police inspector several times, with him asking her to provide the SIM card she used while living in Portugal.

She claims she didn't even have a car at the time of Madeleine's disappearance. Her partner's family said they were questioned by Scotland Yard's Operation Grange, which was involved in providing support to German and Portuguese investigators. The British partner has since died, Sky reports.

In response to the alleged investigation regarding the German woman, a Met Police spokesperson said: "We continue to support Madeleine's family to understand what happened on the evening of 3 May 2007 in Praia da Luz. This includes working with our colleagues in Germany and Portugal.

"Our thoughts remain with the family and it would be inappropriate to comment further while enquiries continue."