The McCanns were prepared to donate £25,000 to the Shannon Matthews fund before police advised them against it
When nine-year-old Shannon Matthews went missing in 2008 from her home in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, people couldn't help but compare the terrible situation to little Madeleine McCann, who disappeared less than a year earlier on holiday in Portugal.
Maddie's mum, Kate McCann, felt so distraught for the Matthews family that she was preparing to donate a rather hefty sum of money to the fund to find her.
But of course, this turned out to be a money-making scam when little Shannon was found drugged and hidden in a divan bed less than a month later at the hands of her own mother, Karen Matthews.
Speaking to The Sun, a source close to Kate said: "She was deeply upset by Shannon's abduction and felt sorry for the family. She wanted to help."
READ MORE: Why are Madeleine McCann's parents Kate and Gerry under fire again?
However, when a trustee contacted the police to find out whose name to put on the cheque, they were shocked to find that the police actually recommended that they did NOT donate the money - as they had evidence on Karen.
Clarence Mitchell, a spokesman for the McCann family, said: "Police advised us not to hand over money.
"We heard things had come to light in investigations. It is beyond belief anyone could've sought to exploit poor Madeleine's plight."
This also comes after we found out last week that Karen had slammed Kate as a "dreadful mother".
READ MORE | Madeleine McCann timeline: A decade since her disappearance
Julie Bushby, a friend and ex-neighbour of Karen, revealed to MailOnline that on an occasion when visiting her in prison, Karen had made some rather harsh comments towards the McCanns.
According to Julie, Karen said: "I've been judged and I'm paying for it but Maddie's mother was bad too. At least my daughter was never left alone!
"We're too lower class for them but we can still have an opinion. There seems to be one rule for them and another for us but she was a dreadful mum.
"She left one, two, three babies alone while she was out eating and drinking with her mates. My Shannon was kept away from her family but she was never left alone."
Thank goodness the police stepped in!
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