MADELEINE McCann's parents will today mark a THOUSAND days since she vanished - with a vow NEVER to give up searching for her.

Doctors Kate and Gerry are to host a fundraising dinner as a thousand lanterns are poignantly released into the sky around the world.

Anguished Kate, 41, will tell guests in London how she struggles to even say the landmark number. Opening her heart, the mum, of Rothley, Leics, admits in her speech: "It's difficult sometimes to understand how we've been able to keep going and survive without Madeleine."

The event bears the poignant title: "Still Missing, Still Missed: An Evening for Madeleine". She was three when she vanished on a 2007 holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal.

Vowing to "turn every stone" her mum will declare: "We will never give up on Madeleine." Poet Simon Armitage will unveil a specially-written sonnet entitled The Beacon. The grim anniversary comes as a SECOND vile book - Faked Abduction - accuses the McCanns of lying about Maddie's disappearance.

Brit Steve Marsden repeats claims in a book by ex-Portuguese cop Goncalo Amaral. Family spokesman Clarence Mitchell said: "Everything Mr Marsden alleges is entirely untrue."