Police begin digging in woodland during Madeleine McCann searches

Personnel clear undergrowth with machinery at Barragem do Arade reservoir, in the Algave, Portugal, as searches continue as part of the investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann (Yui Mok/PA)

Fresh searches in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann have seen police dig a concentrated area of woodland near the banks of a remote reservoir in Portugal.

Personnel spent a number of hours cutting back the undergrowth of a peninsula next to the water on Wednesday, before using shovels to excavate part of the area.