An artist has created what she believes is the most accurate ever model of Madeleine McCann as she would look now - aged 21.

Simone Malik spent four weeks crafting the 3D sculpture in a bid to help track down the missing girl who disappeared in Portugal 18 years ago.

The 43-year-old 'super recogniser' spent hours painstakingly analysing the facial features of Madeleine and her family to create the most realistic model she could.

This year marks the 18th anniversary since Madeleine vanished in May 2007 when she was just three-years-old.

Simone believes there are parallels between Madeleine and her sister Amelie, including sharing a similar jaw shape and near-identical lips, and hopes her creation could finally help solve her disappearance.

Simone's 1m (3.2ft) long model of 21-year-old Madeleine is complete with make-up, modern dress and a 'realistic body shape' to reflect how she would now be a young woman.

Former NHS worker Simone, from Bradford, West Yorks., said: "I think it's the most accurate current model of Madeleine."

"Amelie McCann appeared in public and there was a striking resemblance between her and a previous image of Madeline I did, some of the striking features including the jaw."

"Now here I am with a sculpture hoping the 3D image will shed light onto the mystery as she hasn't been found, we must assume she's alive and out there."

"I've also been looking into missing children, there's so many children who have been missing for two decades and then found. Between 2021 and 2023 over 100 children were recovered after being missing for 20 years."

"The purpose of my sculpture is to ask the public to open their mind, if my sculpture leads to finding her then that's a bonus."

"It's actually a clay sculpture and I've done it all by hand, freestyling it. "

"I've got super recognition abilities, but art and super recognition don't go hand in hand."

"Super recognisers are more reliable than supercomputers. We are more accurate than computerised systems."

"One of the things of a super recogniser is not just the memory, it's also about matching faces and features."

"I've matched faces from family and their genetics and they do share certain traits with Madeleine."

"The forehead is wide and high, similar to Gerry McCann. The eyes are also similar to Gerry, the nose is similar to Philomena her aunt."

"The lip area is not protruding, she has very flat lips going inwards, Kate McCann also has those lips. Amelie also has those lips."

"I've studied her from several different angles, looking down, looking up. I've made her look more glamorous and adult-like."

"The public look at images of Madeleine and see a toddler, maybe they're looking for a toddler's face."

"She's now an adult, if she's out there she's probably getting her hair and make up done."

"Thinking she's no more is a cruel thing to do, there's no concrete evidence to say she's not alive."

"If it can trigger someone out there and lead to something, I would be extremely proud."

The clay sculpture shows Madeleine in a modern red dress and make-up as Simone wanted to capture her entering early adulthood.

The model also features varying shades of blonde hair and has been kept slim like her mum and sister.

Simone added: "I've looked at pictures of Madeleine and looked at videos, where she's smiling cheekily at the camera."

"I've even studied the neck, when I studied her I noticed she had prominent lines on her neck."

"She'll have a line or two on her neck. If you look at Ameile she now has those lines now."

"I've kept the hair to a range of blondes, so the public can see what she might look like with different tones of hair."

"I can give a human touch to the images and make it easier for the public to comprehend. This case has intrigued me."

"I started it on a small scale and then got carried away with my creativity. It took longer than I thought."

"She's in red tight dress, I want the public to realise she is now an adult and a young woman."

"Even with the figure, I've looked at Kate's body and arms and her neck. I looked at her sister, too, it's all very well thought out."

Super recognisers are famed for their ability to memorise facial features and fill in the blanks to complete partially completed faces.

Simone has previously used her ability to help capture a child abductor in Pakistan after forming a face from a side profile of the man.

She added: "I didn't know that I had super recogniser abilities, I only figured out when I was looking at a news broadcast."

"I saw a killer and rapist in Pakistan who was never caught but the police had released a black and white image."

"All you could see on this CCTV footage was the beard but not the forehead and eyebrows."

"I ended up completing the face, then I realised that the killer was caught in a week."

"What we can do is face match, it's almost like having a library in your head that you can match, like a puzzle in your head."

"I've not used my memory, I've used my face matching skills."