A British couple who left their three young children alone in a Costa del Sol hotel room to 'go out partying' have been sentenced, while a separate holiday row saw a British family fear for their safety after a Turkish parent screamed at their boys.
The abandoned children – a six-month-old baby, a one-year-old toddler and a four-year-old – were found alone at the Holiday World Resort in Benalmadena. The youngest had tested positive for cocaine at a Malaga hospital, according to reports, though the parents did not admit to this.
“British couple sentenced for abandoning three children under five at Spanish hotel; separate row sees Turkish parent scream at British boys”
The couple, a 41-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman, were arrested and charged with abandonment. They spent a night in police custody before being brought to court, where they received prison sentences suspended for 18 months. They have been banned from seeing their children for two years and from going within 500 metres of them for the same period.
A spokesman for Andalusia’s High Court of Justice said: 'They are disqualified for two years and eight months from exercising parental authority, and for a period of two years they will be prohibited from going within 500 meters of the children. The children are under the guardianship of the Social Services of the Regional Government of Andalusia, which, in compliance with this judgment, plans to contact the British consulate so that it can arrange for the three children to be transferred to their home country.'
The National Police in Malaga added that a specialist family and women assistance unit, UFAM, was involved and that social services had taken temporary charge of the children. Emergency foster families have been found.
In a separate incident, a British family at a hotel – location not specified – feared they would be attacked after a Turkish parent screamed at their two boys, aged nine and 12, over a children's football row. The father said his 12-year-old stepson was hit in the face by a ball, which he then threw back at the Turkish family, angering them. The moment was captured on video, showing the family's fear as the parent screamed at the boys.