Chilling echoes of Madeleine McCann as mum tells how an intruder tried to snatch her from her cot at Portugal resort
Nicole Shuttleworth was aged three when her parents foiled Algarve kidnapper 13 years before McCann case
A WOMAN who was saved from a child snatcher in Portugal 13 years before Madeleine McCann went missing has revealed: "It could easily have been me."
Nicole Shuttleworth, 25, was just three years old when her mum woke to see a dark intruder reaching into her cot in their Algarve hotel room.
Her case has chilling echoes of Madeleine, who was also three when she vanished from her parents' holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in May 2007.
Nine years on, Madeleine is still missing and the police seem no closer to serving the mystery.
But in 1994, Nicole was holidaying with her cleaner mum Lilian and painter decorator dad Stephen in Albufeira, 45 minutes away from Praia Da Luz.
Photos show the blonde youngster bore a striking resemblance to Madeleine at the time the pervert tried to snatch her.
One night Lilian, now 53, woke up to a dark male figure standing over Nicole’s cot reaching in to grab her.
Lilian let out a "blood-curdling scream" which woke her husband Stephen, now 58, who chased the intruder off.
As there was no sign of a break in, the family believed the would-be abductor used hotel keys to enter their room - something the hotel denied.
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The shaken family moved to another hotel that day as they could not bear to stay in the room after what happened.
In 2007, when the family heard of the devastating news of Madeline McCann, they got in touch with investigators to offer up information in case there was a link with their experience.
Incredibly, despite contacting them twice they only got a call back eight years later.
Today Nicole is a mum herself to son Charlie, 15 months, and wants to share her story to warn other parents.
Nicole said: “I remember snippets, but my mum and dad filled me in.
"We shudder at the thought of what might have happened had my mum never woken up.
“As a mum, to wake up to an empty cot would be agonising.
“A dark figure was watching over my cot and reaching in touching me. My mum let out a blood curdling scream and woke my dad who chased them away.
“When news broke about Maddie we were all in shock. We wanted to offer as much info as we could.
“We were so surprised no one contacted us back, we only received a call back eight years later.
“My heart goes out to the McCanns. It is a lot to go through for any family, but their result was a lot more devastating than ours.
“People must be aware of the dangers that are there home or away. We must look out and after our children.
“I am so blessed that I am here to share this horror story.”
In April, Scotland Yard said its £11m Operation Grange probe into Madeleine's disappearance would end within months as detectives have run out of leads to follow.
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