MADELINE McCann's mother said today she would rather know her daughter was dead than live in limbo forever.

It has been 102 days since the four-year-old girl disappeared from her family's holiday apartment in the Portuguese seaside village of Praia da Luz.

Kate McCann said she and her husband Gerry needed to know what had happened to her - even if that meant learning the worst.

The couple have always said they will cling onto the hope Madeleine is still alive until they see concrete evidence to the contrary.

But on Saturday Portuguese police acknowledged for the first time that she could be dead in the light of newly discovered clues.

Mrs McCann told Woman's Own magazine: "I've never liked uncertainty. And this is the worst kind of limbo.

"Gerry and I have spoken about this and in our heart of hearts we'd both rather know - even if knowing means we have to face the terrible truth that Madeleine might be dead. We both need to know."

In her interview Mrs McCann paints a vivid picture of her daughter as a sociable and funny child.

She said: "She has a lot of personality and her name actually means 'tower of strength'. But she hated it when we called her Maddie - she'd say, 'My name is Madeleine', with an indignant look on her face.

"I bet she's giving whoever she's with her tuppence worth."

Toy

Mrs McCann has almost always been seen clutching Madeleine's favourite soft toy, Cuddle Cat, in the months days since her disappearance.

Referring to the stuffed animal, she said: "In a way I wish they'd taken this with her. It would be a comfort to know Madeleine had something she loved, wherever she is.

"I can't prepare myself for bad news. I simply don't know how."

Madeleine's mother also spoke about her daily struggle to carry on.

"When children have gone missing in the past - Holly Wells, Jessica Chapman and Sarah Payne - and I've watched the news and thought, 'that's my worst nightmare'," she said.

"I had no idea how those mothers got through the day. But until you're in that situation, you can't even begin to imagine what it is that gets you out of bed and into the shower. You just have to go on.

"And it doesn't take the guilt away. Whenever I laugh with the twins or eat something nice - it's always there in the back of my mind, 'Madeleine would love this'.

"I suppose I'm really just going through the motions of life hoping, every night when I go to bed, that this will be the last day I'll have to get through without her."

Criticism

She also responded to criticism of her and her husband for leaving their three children alone in their flat while they dined in a nearby restaurant on the night Madeleine disappeared.

Mrs McCann said: "I ask myself, 'Why did I think it was safe?' But it felt safe. You don't expect a predator to break in and take your daughter."

She added: "I always had this little prayer I'd say at night: 'Please keep them safe, healthy and happy'.

"But safe in my head was about the children falling over or getting hit by a car.

"I never worried someone would watch us, break in and then take our daughter away. Why would I?"

* The full interview with Kate McCann appears in the new issue of Woman's Own on sale tomorrow (Tue).