The parents of Madeleine McCann have called for an end to the "hurtful" smear campaign after sensational new claims that her mother hid her corpse in a fridge after accidentally killing her, British media reported.

Police in Portugal say they believe that Kate McCann killed Madeleine while putting her to bed at their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz between 7pm and 8.30pm on May 3 and then hid her corpse in a fridge, with the help of friends.

According to a report in the respected Diario de Noticias newspaper officers believed that she accidentally killed Madeleine while her husband was playing tennis. Her body then "passed through various locations" before going into the boot of the car hired by her parents 25 days after she disappeared, it reported.

As a result, detectives want to inspect fridges at the Ocean Club complex where the McCanns were staying with a group of seven British adults.

A source close to the McCanns said: "That is total rubbish. Have you seen the size of the fridges in those apartments? Of course they did not stuff her in a fridge. Kate was not in the apartment alone with Maddy. They had both been playing tennis, then they put her to bed together and were then down for dinner (with their friends) by 8.20pm."

The four-year-old girl vanished from the apartment room at the Portuguese Praia da Luz resort on 3 May while her parents were eating with friends at a nearby restaurant.

The family maintains Madeleine was abducted and has campaigned internationally to secure the safe return of their daughter, including having a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI and securing support from football star David Beckham.

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