THE Algarve is a changed place ever since the abduction of Madeleine McCann. Tourists are looked upon by locals with suspicion now and although I enjoyed our family holiday, the dark atmosphere generated by what has become the world's biggest missing person hunt will be my prevailing memory.

The moment we arrived at Faro there were photos of little Madeleine everywhere. It set the tone for the holiday as we saw her image time and time again in the windows of bars, restaurants and shops.

Having a three-year-old daughter as well as a baby son, I'm sure we felt the pain more acutely than many. My wife had been so traumatised by the abduction she had even contemplated cancelling the break.

I'm glad we didn't though. It isn't fair to the Portuguese people who rely so heavily on tourism to keep their economy going that we jeopardise their livelihoods because of the depraved actions of one person.

Staying only four miles from Praia da Luz, from where Madeleine was taken, we knew we would be more vigilant than ever in looking after our children, especially daughter Cara, who many have told us bears a slight resemblance to Madeleine.

However, Cara has brown hair, and we thought this would be enough to allow us to go about our daily routines with a minimum of fuss. How wrong we were.

My wife Tracy commented on our first day in Lagos that she felt everyone was looking at Cara somewhat strangely.

It wasn't paranoia. Often these strangers would glare at our daughter. I can only assume that they thought maybe we had Madeleine and had dyed her hair.

The strangest incident for us was near the end of the holiday when we noticed an old Portuguese man walking behind us. His pace quickened and he caught up. He stopped and turned Cara around to look into her face. He said something in Portuguese - the only words we could make out was Praia da Luz.

Yes - Praia da Luz. Never did I think we would see that place that is synonymous with so much sadness, but all that changed in the first week in an unexpected way.

Cara seemed listless and her face swollen and we had the unpleasant scenario of needing to get her medical attention. We spoke to the hotel reception and they told us a taxi would be there in a few minutes. We were told we would be visiting a doctor who deals with expats and holidaymakers. Although Lagos is a substantial town, the doctor was in, you've guessed it, Praia da Luz.

It was the day when the finger of suspicion first pointed at Robert Murat. As we approached the resort we could see a helicopter overhead. It seemed surreal to be in this quaint resort which was now the centre of the world's media. We passed a road and about 100 yards down it you could see dozens of journalists and TV crews. It was clearly the villa we had been looking at on BBC News 24 just an hour or so earlier.

Cara was diagnosed with a form of scarlet fever, which meant she could not be in the sun for the first week of our holiday - not what we wanted.

As we left this infamous resort with Cara on my knee in the back of the cab, I looked to my right and saw a swimming pool and apartments. I said to my wife, could this be where Madeleine was taken from her bed? We then passed the entrance to this complex. The yellow and white police tape gave me the answer. Both Tracy and I felt sick. We were glad we weren't staying there.

That evening, I spoke to an expat from Cambridgeshire about how life felt in the Algarve since the crime.

She said the Portuguese people were "mortified" that such a terrible thing could happen in their region.

She said: "Things will never be the same here again. The Portuguese are so sad and they just can't understand why this has happened."

She also gave us an insight into the different view the Portuguese feel about the McCann's decision to socialise with friends while their children slept unattended.

"They just can't understand why the children weren't with them," she said. "In Portugal, families do everything together and unlike England they don't see anything wrong with having the children out late at night."

Throughout our fortnight in Portugal, Madeleine McCann was never far from people's conversation. We spoke to a couple who were renting a villa with their blonde four-year-old daughter. They told us how a very old man had called at the villa late at night demanding to see the little girl - just to make sure it wasn't Madeleine.

I'm sure thousands of holidaymakers in the Algarve with young girls around Madeleine's age will have similar tales to tell.

For this reason, I can't say I felt too sorry to be heading home to Worcestershire. Until Madeleine is found, the Algarve will certainly not be the place it was before May 3.