GERRY and Kate McCann will tomorrow hold a party to celebrate the twins’ fourth birthday — with presents from missing sister Madeleine.

 

The couple have invited a number of friends and family to their home for a low-key celebration for Sean and Amelie.

 

It will bring back tragic memories for the McCanns — as it is the birthday Madeleine never celebrated with them.

The family and their relatives had been looking forward to a party at the McCanns’ home in Rothley, Leics.

 

They had ordered a Dr Who cake with the number four on for Madeleine.

 

Snatched

 

But just days before the celebration planned for May 12, she was snatched from her holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal.

 

The McCanns are determined to make the day special for Sean and Amelie — including giving them presents from Madeleine, who they have not seen for more than 21 months.

 

A friend said: “Kate and Gerry have always tried to keep things as normal as possible for the twins.

“Last year they threw a big party for them. But a year on, with still no clue as to what happened to Madeleine, it is a difficult time.

 

“It is especially poignant as the last birthday cake they had for Madeleine had a number four on it.” The twins were just two years old when Madeleine disappeared in May 2007. They have always asked where their sister was.

 

Despite the huge impact Madeleine’s disappearance has had on the family, the McCanns have always vowed to give Sean and Amelie a “normal childhood”.

 

Next year the pair will start school, a milestone that Madeleine never reached.

 

The friend added: “It is doubly difficult, because the twins are doing things for the first time that their sister should have done before them.

 

“They will make the day all about the twins, but Madeleine will never be far from their minds.”