A possible sighting of Madeleine McCann in Belgium has been ruled out, Belgian authorities have said.

The father of a young blonde girl captured on CCTV in Brussels on August 4 came forward last night to explain that his daughter was not the missing girl.

Lieve Pellens, spokeswoman for the Belgian federal prosecutor's office, said: "He saw this picture and obviously for him it was very easy recognising the girl accompanied by a woman in a veil.

"It's her nanny - she is a young Moroccan woman who is qualified to look after children and works in a care centre."

The news will be a blow to Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, who had hoped the Brussels sighting would provide the breakthrough they have been awaiting for more than 15 months.

CCTV images of the potential sighting in the western Molenbeek suburb of Brussels show the woman walking down the street hand-in-hand with the child.

And a security guard at a branch of the KBC Bank reportedly overheard the girl say to the adult in English: "Can we go back now?"

But Ms Pellens said it had turned out that the four-year-old girl was the "ordinary Belgian daughter of an ordinary Belgian citizen".

McCann family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "I am very pleased that this little girl has been identified and that she can be ruled out, from her family's perspective.

"Clearly for Kate and Gerry it is a disappointment. But we have had many of these before and the search for Madeleine will continue."

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