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VIEWERS left horrified over the kidnap of Shannon Matthews tonight sent their best wishes to the young woman after a new documentary on her imprisonment.

Shannon was just nine years old when she was kept in horrific conditions after Karen Matthews and accomplice Michael Donovan staged her kidnapping.

Shannon Matthews was kidnapped by her mum and an accomplice
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Shannon Matthews was kidnapped by her mum and an accompliceCredit: PA:Press Association
Shannon was found 24 days after her disappearance
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Shannon was found 24 days after her disappearanceCredit: PA:Press Association
Viewers have sent their best wishes to Shannon
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Viewers have sent their best wishes to Shannon
Viewers said they hope Shannon - who now has a new identity - is happy
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Viewers said they hope Shannon - who now has a new identity - is happyCredit: Twitter
Many have shared their support for Shannon and her siblings
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Many have shared their support for Shannon and her siblingsCredit: Twitter

Shannon's story has been told in a harrowing new Channel 5 documentary - The Disappearance of Shannon Matthews - with viewers sharing her support for the victim.

One viewer : "That vile woman deserves every day of her sentence and more for what she did. I only hope Shannon Matthews is living her life happily, wherever she is."

A person wrote on : "Darling Shannon Matthews, wherever you and your siblings are now, may you be happy. You deserve a happily ever after."

Another : "Hope Shannon and her brothers and sisters have be managed to be brought up in caring and happy homes after what happened!"

One more said: "I hope Shannon has found a better, loving family and is being well treated and looked after.

"I still don’t know how anyone could do such things like this, especially parents. Wherever you are Shannon, remember you are loved by me and all!"

In 2008, the youngster - then aged nine - vanished on her way home from a swimming lesson in Dewsbury, West Yorks, sparking a huge £3.2million search.

'MAY YOU BE HAPPY'

Hundreds of neighbours and friends joined the mission with Shannon's mum Karen sobbing on TV as she pleaded for her daughter to come home.

But in a shocking twist, it was revealed the monster was behind a plot that saw her daughter drugged and hidden in a divan bed in a callous bid to claim the £50,000 reward.

The discovery, made 24 days after Shannon disappeared, stunned the nation.

More than 250 officers and 60 detectives were involved in the search with cops quizzing 1,500 motorists and searching 3,000 addresses.

The nine-year-old was eventually found tethered and drugged inside the base of a double bed at Michael Donovan’s grotty flat almost a month after she disappeared.

The two-part documentary, which aired on February 10 and 11, sheds new light on the case.

Shannon's childhood best friend, Megan Aldridge, spoke of her grief at not being able to see her friend anymore
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Shannon's childhood best friend, Megan Aldridge, spoke of her grief at not being able to see her friend anymore

After watching it, some viewers also shared their sympathy for Megan Aldridge, Shannon's best friend, who has recently spoken of her grief over never seeing her again.

Megan said: "That afternoon we were going to the swimming baths with school and as usual me and Shannon paired up together straightaway.

"When that was over we got on the coach back together. Once we got off the coach, something didn't seem right.

“Cause her mum told her, her brother was picking her up that day after school but he never showed up. Cause normally if, like, she sends one of the kids to pick Shannon up from school, they’d be waiting outside the gates before we even got there. But there was no one there.

"That was literally, like, the last time I saw her."

One viewer tweeted: "I really feel for her best friend Megan, she went to school as a happy nine-year-old one day and she never saw her best friend again."

The documentary revealed a list of rules Shannon had to follow
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The documentary revealed a list of rules Shannon had to followCredit: West Yorkshire Police

The documentary revealed a chilling list of rules the child was forced to follow - from never going near windows to not making any noise.

Cops later found a handwritten note, headed "Rules" and signed off I.P.U, short for "I Promise You", which included strict instructions to keep quiet.

The note read: "You must not make any noise or bang your feet" as well as "you must not go near the windows".

Other rules included: "You must not get anything or do anything without me been here", while the young school girl was also warned to keep the TV volume low.

On December 4, 2008, mum-of-seven Karen and Donovan were found guilty of kidnapping, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice.

READ MORE SUN STORIES

Both were sentenced at Leeds Crown Court to eight years behind bars.

Shannon was given a new identity and was taken into care.

Supporters and family members searched for Snannon
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Supporters and family members searched for SnannonCredit: PA:Press Association
Karen Matthews admits lying about Shannon's disappearance in a chilling police interview
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Karen Matthews admits lying about Shannon's disappearance in a chilling police interview
Karen Matthews holding her daughter's favourite teddy bear as she makes an emotional appeal for her safe return - but it was all a lie
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Karen Matthews holding her daughter's favourite teddy bear as she makes an emotional appeal for her safe return - but it was all a lieCredit: PA:Press Association
Michael Donovan was an accomplice in the kidnap of the child
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Michael Donovan was an accomplice in the kidnap of the childCredit: Handout - Getty
Police search teams break the ice to search the lake in a park close to Shannon's home after she went missing
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Police search teams break the ice to search the lake in a park close to Shannon's home after she went missingCredit: PA:Press Association
Chilling list of rules that Shannon Matthews was forced to follow revealed after being tethered to bed by mum
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