Items that were seized as part of fresh searches for evidence in the Madeleine McCann case cannot yet be linked with the investigation into her disappearance, German prosecutors have said.

Last week, a large section of the Barragem do Arade reservoir in Portugal was cordoned off so the search could take place.

The reservoir is about 30 miles from where Madeleine McCann went missing as a three-year-old in 2007.

The three-day hunt for evidence saw police flatten a specific area of woodland and dig a number of holes near the remote reservoir.

The Comet: A three-day hunt for evidence saw holes be dug by the Barragem do Arade reservoir, in the Algave, PortugalA three-day hunt for evidence saw holes be dug by the Barragem do Arade reservoir, in the Algave, Portugal (Image: Yui Mok/PA Wire)

Prosecutor for the city of Braunschweig, Christian Wolters, said the individual items seized as part of searches would be evaluated over the coming days and weeks.

In a short statement, Mr Wolters said the investigation into 46-year-old suspect Christian Brueckner is expected to continue for a long time.

He said the co-operation between German, British and Portuguese authorities went “excellently and very constructively”.

After the searches last week ended, Portuguese police said materials had been sent to Germany for testing.

During the operation, personnel used heavy machinery, sniffer dogs and pickaxes.

Police were given the go-ahead to search the area after German prosecutors received “certain tips” about the case.

The Comet: The searches were carried out at Barragem do Arade reservoir, in the Algave, PortugalThe searches were carried out at Barragem do Arade reservoir, in the Algave, Portugal (Image: Yui Mok/PA Wire)

The operation was carried out at the request of German investigators who believe their prime suspect, convicted sex offender Brueckner, kidnapped and murdered Madeleine McCann.

He is in prison in Germany for the rape of a woman in Praia da Luz in 2005 and is suspected of further rapes and child sexual abuse committed in the area between 2000 and 2017.

Brueckner has reportedly denied any involvement in the disappearance of Madeleine.

When and where did Madeleine McCann go missing?

Madeleine was on holiday with her parents in Praia da Luz when she went missing in 2007.

The three-year-old vanished after her parents left her and her younger twin siblings asleep in their apartment while they went out to dinner with friends.

Portuguese lawyer Marcos Aragao Correia previously claimed that criminal contacts had told him that Madeleine’s body was in the reservoir and in 2008 he raised funds for unsuccessful private searches of the water.

The new searches came as the Home Office granted an extra £110,000 in funding this financial year for the Metropolitan Police to assist with finding Madeleine, down from just over £300,000 last year.

The total funding given to Operation Grange has been just under £13.1 million since 2011.