British police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have been granted stg£85,000 (€96,864) to extend the search for a further six months.

The UK Home Office has approved the extra funding to continue with the probe, known as Operation Grange, until September.

To date a total of stg£11.1m (€12.6m) has been spent on the investigation.

Three-year-old Madeleine vanished from the family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in Portugal in May 2007 while her parents were having dinner nearby with friends.

Her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann have pledged to "never give up" hope of finding their daughter.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: "Following an application from the Metropolitan Police for Special Grant funding, the Home Office has confirmed £85,000 in operational costs for Operation Grange for the period 1 April until September 2017.

"As with all applications, the resources required are reviewed regularly and careful consideration is given before any new funding is allocated."

Since 2011 the Metropolitan Police have been assisting with the search for clues about what happened to the youngster, with officers visiting the holiday resort in Portugal in 2014.

There is one person who was near the area where Madeleine went missing who police want to speak to, the UK's Sunday Express reported.

The newspaper said there has been an international search to find the person.