Police in Portugal have reopened the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann six years after the original probe.

The public prosecutors there approved the move following a request from officers in Oporto, who have been reviewing the case and identified a number of issues they want to clarify.

The team is said to have had no involvement in the original Portuguese police investigation which ended in 2008 and was heavily criticised in British media.

A spokesman for the Office of the Attorney-General said in a statement "The Public Ministry has determined the reopening of the inquiry relating to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann following a request from the Policiia Judiciaria".

Police received more than 2,400 phone calls from the public following the broadcast of a reconstruction of events leading up to the disappearance of the 3-year-old in 2007.

A spokesman for the McCanns reportedly said the change of heart may be partly due to publicity surrounding the case after the appeal and the recent discovery of an allegedly abducted blonde girl, known as Maria, who was found living with a Roma family in Greece.

"Kate and Gerry don't want to get their hopes up too much. But if the Portuguese do resume their investigation it would be a significant development and an important step forward," the Daily Mirror reported the spokesman as saying.

British police say their review of the case suggests it was a premeditated abduction, with their focus turning towards a man seen carrying a child at about the same time Madeleine was found to be missing from the family's holiday apartment.

Detectives have released two e-fit images of a man they want to speak to in connection with the case based on the accounts of two witnesses.

Both described seeing him in Praia da Luz on the evening of May 3rd.

Four other e-fits based on witness accounts of men seen in the area, some of whom may have been working as "charity collectors" who may or may not be genuine were also released.