The prime suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann will be free to prowl the streets once more after officials ruled to end his 24/7 police surveillance. A German regional court has sensationally ruled to scrap the protection from midnight on Friday.

Paedophile Christian Brueckner, 48, has been under constant guard for more than six months while living in a portacabin close to the city centre of Kiel, northeast Germany. A Daily Express investigation last month revealed that, despite the surveillance order, Brueckner was frequently seen walking alone and was reported to have repeatedly evaded officers by cycling down routes inaccessible to their vehicles.

The worrying move by authorities comes as the Daily Express is aware of at least two violent altercations between the sex offender and locals since he was released from prison in September for a rape conviction.

In April, Brueckner was involved in a ‘fist fight’ with an Englishman living in Kiel, on another occasion the sex offender was involved in an incident with an Irishman threatening him and hitting him with his bicycle. He was said to have told the man “are you not afraid of the monster?”

Kiel Police said they are appealing the decision of the court. It’s understood Brueckner will still have to wear an ankle tag, but he will now be able to move freely without any eyes on him. Brueckner’s presence in the city had sparked angry protests from worried parents forcing authorities to move him between different shelters and hotels. At one stage the career criminal was living in tent in a forest.

Under his police guard, Brueckner has enjoyed carefree bicycle rides and it’s reported he has toyed with his police protection multiple times by riding down routes they cannot follow in their vehicles.

In startling scenes last month, the Daily Express was confronted by Brueckner’s armed undercover bodyguard when we dared try and quiz the sex offender about the disappearance of Maddie McCann.

The British toddler is one of the world’s most famous missing person cases after she vanished aged three on a family holiday in Praia de Luz, Portugal, in 2007.

A parent, who did not wish to be named, has been involved in the protest groups and monitoring of Brueckner’s movements through social media.

“To say I’m astonished and outraged is an understatement,” he said, “this is the guy who has previous, he is a high-risk repeat offender who has played cat and mouse with the police.”

The furious parent said the move to end monitoring Brueckner was madness, especially as Kiel has a huge sailing festival taking place later this month. Kieler Woche, Kiel Week, sees millions of families and children flock to the city for the biggest sailing regatta in the world.

“Brueckner has clashed with two individuals that we know of in Kiel, and it’s deemed appropriate at the biggest time of the year for the city, with over a million tourists coming here that we will not monitor him anymore. It’s f***ing insane,” added the parent.

“We’re all supposed to live in the nightmare of a monster in our area, waiting for him to strike again. The very people who are there to protect us have time and time again failed.

“Ministers put him into the undisclosed locations around Kiel despite parental boards having the right to know where he was so that they could organise protection for their kids. The police have failed to monitor him on countless occasions.

“The authorities are failing in their duty of care to the citizens, how would they like it if he was put at the end of their garden?”

Kiel Police Department said they were appealing the decision by the regional authorities. In a statement, using the name Christian B due to German privacy laws, the department said: “The Kiel Police Department reports that the court order for the surveillance of Christian B. has not been extended.

“The Kiel Police Directorate filed an appeal with the Kiel District Court yesterday (Tuesday). A decision is still pending.

“The safety of the citizens remains the top priority for the Kiel Police Department. Even without this measure, we will continue to fulfill our duties of preventing danger and prosecuting crimes, in accordance with the court’s decision.”

The statement added that the police were “in close contact with all relevant institutions within the framework of the law”.

Brueckner has never been charged with any crime in relation to the McCann case and he denies any involvement, however, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said the convicted rapist “remains a suspect for us”.

Brueckner has been in Kiel since being released from prison in September last year after serving a seven-and-a-half-year sentence for the rape of a 72-year-old American tourist in Praia da Luz in 2005. He has a host of previous convictions, including for sexually abusing children in 1994 and 2016.

German prosecutors consider the paedophile a prime suspect but have failed to get enough evidence to bring charges despite mobile phone data indicating he may had been in the area when Maddie McCann vanished in 2007.