The father of the four-year-old British child who was taken from a Portuguese holiday resort has had his wallet stolen.

Gerry McCann was on a flight into London in order to attend a number of meetings in relation to the ongoing search for his daughter Madeleine yesterday.

He told his daily online diary on FindMadeleine.com that the incident happened shortly after he helped a collapsed passenger on the plane, who was later rushed to hospital.

"Unfortunately shortly after arriving in London I had my wallet stolen which meant I was running late," Mr McCann wrote.

"I did manage to get to all my meetings which ran late into the evening."

Mr McCann and his wife Kate have been coordinating a high-profile campaign to find their daughter after she went missing from her bed in the Mark Warner Ocean Summer Club complex in Praia da Luz, Algarve, on May 3rd.

They have both travelled to a number of countries and worked in tandem with the media to keep the case in the public eye.

But Mr McCann, a cardiac surgeon, said today that he and his wife would be taking a less high-profile role in future.

"We had very good discussions regarding sustaining the search for Madeleine long term," he continued.

"The role for Kate and I in the campaign will not be nearly be so public. We have to balance any campaigning in the search for Madeleine with protecting [the couple's other children] Sean and Amelie and making sure their privacy is protected."

He added that the family were "exploring the use of new media and using local advertising" and confirmed that a balloon launch will take place on Friday June 22nd.

A total of 50 balloons from 50 countries will be released to highlight the fact that Madeleine will have been missing for 50 days.

Want to advertise in Scarlet, Harlot or this website? Click here and download our media pack which has all the information you need.

Scarlet Media Pack 2008