Kate McCann is threatening legal action against social media users stealing extracts from the best seller book she wrote about her missing daughter Madeleine.

She also hit out at claims she is cashing in on her daughter's disappearance, saying: 'For those posting that we are trying to make money, you are absolutely wrong.'

The warning comes as Mrs McCann and her husband Gerry hit back at reality TV star Marco Pierre White Junior after he posted a foul-mouthed ran on Twitter accusing the couple of making money from their daughter's disappearance.

Kate McCann reveals her book, Madeleine, with her husband Gerry

Madeleine McCann went missing in 2007 on a family holiday in Portugal

Mrs McCann vented her anger at the people stealing extracts from her book on a Facebook page promoting the hunt for her daughter.

The official Find Madeleine Campaign is endorsed by the former GP and her heart doctor husband.

All posts by the site's un-named web chief, a mother who runs the site with a group of fellow supporters, are approved by the couple.

On Mr McCann's behalf she wrote: 'I would like to remind those who are sharing Kate's book online, you are violating copyright law.

'Kate's publisher has notified Facebook and other social media networks of the links and people engaging in this illegal activity. You risk having your Facebook account terminated and could face prosecution brought by the publisher. Downloading and sharing copyrighted material is illegal.'

She urges campaigners: 'If you see Kate's book posted online out of the normal ways to purchase an e-book, please let us know.

Kate and Gerry are bracing themselves for the painful milestone 10th anniversary of their daughter's disappearance

'We will notify Kate's publisher and they will have the links removed and determine if the person posting should be prosecuted.'

Kate, 49, and Gerry, 48, are bracing themselves for the painful milestone 10th anniversary of their daughter's disappearance in less than seven weeks.

Three-year-old Madeleine vanished from a holiday apartment in Portugal's Praia da Luz in May 2007 while her parents were dining in a nearby tapas bar.

The couple, from Rothley, Leicestershire, are clinging on to a glimmer of hope that the girl, who would now be aged 13, nearly 14, would still be alive.

In May 2011 Kate penned her memoirs 'to give an account of the truth' and to help boost the dwindling public fund set up to find her daughter.

The legal warning was posted on the Official Find Madeleine Campaign page which is endorsed by the McCanns

The £20 book, simply called 'Madeleine', and published by Transworld, part of Bantam Press, was a huge success.

It made £1million from sales and a newspaper fee for serialisation which went straight into the search for Madeleine.

The campaign webmaster added: 'For those posting that we are trying to make money, you are absolutely wrong! By posting the book online, you are stealing from the publisher.

'Kate was given an advance for her book which was put into the fund. This isn't about us making money.

The book was a huge success, making £1million and Mrs McCann has threatened to sue those who steal extracts from it

'It's about participating in an illegal activity and stealing from the publisher, which is punishable under the law.

'If you don't want to purchase the book, that's fine. Just don't steal it!'

The McCann's have recently been subjected to a cruel torrent of online abuse from minor celebrities and so-called criminal experts.

They spouted off after it was revealed Scotland Yard had been handed an extra £85,000 of taxpayers' money to continue the hunt for Madeleine.

Marco Pierre White Junior launched his attack on the McCanns on Thursday

One of these celebrities is the Big Brother star and son of chef Marco Pierre White, who in a vile online rant accused the McCanns of murdering their daughter and cashing in on her disappearance.

He wrote: 'Kate and Gerry MacCann are f*****g guilty sick mother f*****s defiantly killed there daughter [sic]. Look at the money they've made out of it in 10 years.'

The outburst, littered with spelling mistakes, was posted to 40,000 Twitter followers.

Spokesman for the McCann's Clarence Mitchell told The Sun the couple hope 'any right minded person will see his totally ignorant abuse for what it is'.

The tweets sent out by Pierre White Jr are littered with spelling mistakes and explicit language

He added that they 'will not be dignifying his abuse with any further comment'.

Pierre White Junior's comments could be deemed 'malicious and libelous', leaving him potentially open to legal action.

A source close to the McCann's told The Sun: 'He comes across as a complete and utter idiot. His father must be appalled by his behaviour.

'But even mentioning him and like-minded people might give them some sort of spurious credibility.'