KATE and Gerry McCann are “delighted” at huge support for a petition launched earlier this week, their spokesman said yesterday.

The couple launched the petition to lobby the UK and Portuguese governments for a joint or independent review of the case on Wednesday – exactly three-and-a-half years since their daughter Madeleine disappeared.

Today more than 24,000 people had already signed the petition, with the number rising by the minute. Click here to lend your support.

And the couple said the support showed finding Madeleine was still a cause close to British people’s hearts.

Their spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: “It’s fair to say they are delighted, it shows the public support that they know is out there.

“Hopefully both the Portuguese and British governments will take notice and there will be a review.”

Madeleine was three when she went missing from her family’s holiday flat in Praia da Luz in the Algarve on May 3, 2007, as her parents dined with friends nearby.

Portuguese police launched a huge investigation with the support of British officers, but the inquiry was formally shelved in July 2008.

Private detectives employed by the McCanns are still investigating the case.

And last week the couple appealed for more donations to the official Find Madeleine fund, which is in danger of running out in spring 2011 if they do not get more financial backing.