In the 131 days since their daughter Madeleine disappeared, Kate and Gerry McCann have barely been out of the glare of cameras. Yesterday, the most famous residents of the Leicestershire village of Rothley were nowhere to be seen.

It may have marked the first day of a return to home comforts, but there was no pretence that the McCann family’s homecoming was accompanied by any semblance of a return to normality.

Their representatives gave warning that the couple were unlikely to leave their four-bedroom detached house. Carrier bags full of shopping brought by relatives and friends gave ample indication that the McCanns intended to spend at least a day behind closed doors.

“They would love to be going out for a walk,” Brian Kennedy, Mrs McCann’s uncle, told The Times. Instead, they remained inside, seeking refuge from the police and press. Residents of other homes in the cul-de-sac at the north end of the village also remained hidden. “We’re very supportive but we won’t be going round,” said one woman, hurrying between her house and car. “We’ll give them our best wishes over the phone.”

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Police guarding the entrance to the road were instructed to admit only residents and accredited members of the press. Throughout the day, officers in front of the gates of the McCann residence handled a steady trickle of flowers and mail.

The curtains were opened at 8am and, shortly afterwards, a blind was fitted to a downstairs window - all the better to keep out the glare of the massed lenses. In the afternoon Mr McCann made a brief appearance, opening the door to a police officer. Otherwise, no other family member could be glimpsed.

To detract attention from the McCanns’ home, Mr Kennedy gave a press conference in the village square, a ½mile to the south. The railings around the square’s cenotaph were once festooned with yellow ribbons and cuddly toys. Now only a candle with a singed yellow band remained.

Mr Kennedy said that the family had benefited from a good night’s sleep. “They will try to lead as normal a life as possible,” he added. “They’d like to be left alone. In their present state, all they want to do is play with the kids and have a bit of peace and quiet. They don’t want to feel like they’re confined to the house. But it’s very calm in the house for the twins.”

How well the self-imposed siege suited other family members was not obvious. Shortly after 1pm a doctor made a brief visit, although the purpose was not disclosed.

In the first month after Madeleine’s disappearance the village population of 3,000 was sometimes doubled by visiting wellwishers. Yesterday, none could be found. The only members of the public who acknowledged the McCanns’ presence were curious strangers who slowed their vehicles to peer down the road at the family home.

Visitors to Rothley had, until yesterday, been welcomed by its residents but their patience is now wearing thin. Few will talk to the assembled media, other than to remonstrate about satellite trucks occupying parking spaces.

“The press did have the goodwill of the people here but it’s going fast,” said Percy Hartshorn, chairman of Rothley Parish Council. “It’s just the sheer volume. But we’re supporting the McCanns. We want a good result, and the village to return to normal.”

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