Worcester News journalist Mike Nolan was looking forward to his holiday in the Algarve - but now he has mixed emotions knowing his daughter, aged three, will be near the place where Madeleine McCann was abducted.

EVER since we booked our holiday to the Algarve a few months ago we have been eagerly anticipating the break just like most normal folks do about their annual holiday.

However, the distressing news about the abduction of little Madeleine McCann has particular resonance with us as our daughter Cara is the same age.

When the full impact of Madeleine's disappearance became apparent over the weekend I looked on the internet of a map of the region. I hoped it would be a long way away from where we are staying. Unfortunately I found out we are just three miles away from the resort.

To make matters worse, on Monday's news I heard Portuguese papers are now linking the sighting of a balding man dragging a toddler around the marina at Lagos with the child's disappearance. Yep, you've guessed it. We are staying at that marina complex.

Now we are faced we the dilemma of whether we should go on the holiday.

Now before you say that is a huge overreaction, I agree that the chances of our daughter too becoming a victim of this maniac is about the same as Elvis Presley become the next Bishop of Worcester.

Even if we overcome that minuscule risk in our heads it's what the general atmosphere will be like in the region that is an added concern. Traditionally we all drop our guard a bit on holiday. We slow down and generally feel a bit more trusting of people and take on a very laid-back demeanour.

However, with a nutter who has committed a terrible crime on the loose less than a five minute drive away from where we are staying, it's safe to say our little Cara cannot be out of our line of vision for a second. Anyone with a lively three-year-old will know that can not always be guaranteed even by the most vigilant parents. They can run into a different aisle in a shop while you are looking at the shelves.

My wife, more so than myself, is trying to work out the psychology of this evil soul who has taken Madeleine. Will he be feeling braver now that he has abducted once? Will it be a snatch off a street next time as he needs more of an adrenaline rush?

Maybe he is feeling particulartly audacious and will break into an apartment while the parents are there? If so, I hope that at 6ft 1in and 13 stone, I am big enough to make him think twice.

I know. It's all mad, but this is a crazy situation and the mind can go a bit bonkers when faced with something like this.

Many have said to me that it is possibly the safest time to go now - after all, wasn't flying to New York at its safest the days after 9/11? On the other hand, didn't more terrorists try to blow up London the week after 7/7?

The area around us will, no doubt, be swarming with police to provide reassurance. But the flip side of that is that unfortunate holidaymakers will be on tenterhooks. Is that really the way you want to feel when you are meant to be having your highest quality time of the year?

At the moment we are undecided whether we are going or not. We would lose the cost of the air fares - about £600, but maybe it is worth it to ensure a high-quality break.

To put our mind at ease, last night we tried to find out about the security in the complex we are staying in. However, all the travel chatrooms we visited offered nothing other than pontificating about how irresponsible the parents were for leaving their children alone while they went for a meal.

Now, I want to get it straight we would not do that. However, I don't want to judge the McCanns for this. There are plenty of people who have done the same. It's all to do with the attitude to risk. The risk of this happening was so minute they felt it was justified. It turned out it wasn't. They will now have to pay for this decision for the rest of their lives. That is enough for them to contend with without the nation finger wagging.

We will wrestle with our decision for a day or two yet and, like the whole country, hope and pray for the safe return of Madeleine. However, with the passing of time it's looking grim. Dramas like this don't generally have a happy ending. Let's hope this is the rare one that does.