Brit couple who 'left children alone in Spanish hotel to go partying' issued dramatic ban

Brit couple who 'left children alone in Spanish hotel to go partying' issued dramatic ban A British couple have been sentenced in Spain for leaving their three children, including a six-month-old baby, in a Costa del Sol hotel 'to go out partying' A British couple arrested for leaving their children at a Costa del Sol hotel "to go out partying" have been issued a ban from seeing their children by a Spanish court. The children, a baby aged six months, a toddler aged one and a four-year-old, were found alone at the Holiday World Resort in Benalmadena. Unconfirmed reports previously said the youngest child had tested positive for cocaine at a Malaga hospital before being taken into care although the authorities have not commented on this. Spanish police said a British man aged 41 and a woman aged 28 had been arrested. The unnamed tourists have now accepted prison sentences of nearly a year and a half each which were automatically suspended. They have also been banned by the Spanish court from seeing their children for two years. A spokesman for Andalucia's High Court of Justice said: "Court No. 3 of the Investigating Division of the Court of First Instance of Torremolinos today sentenced two British parents arrested for abandoning their three children to one year and four months in prison for committing the offense of abandonment. "The sentence was delivered as part of a plea bargain deal after the pair admitted their crime. In addition, the ruling also establishes that 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. "Thanks to the agreement of all parties, the court has suspended the parents' imprisonment on the condition that they do not commit any offenses within a period of two years. "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." A spokesman for the National Police in Malaga confirmed yesterday the reports that the British couple had been arrested in the early hours of Thursday morning. He said: “A British man aged 41 and a woman aged 28 have been held on suspicion of a crime of child abandonment. Their children, aged six months, a year and a bit and four, were found alone at the hotel and have been taken to hospital. “A specialist branch of the National Police called UFAM, a family and women assistance unit, is involved and the Junta de Andalucia’s social services’ unit has taken temporary charge of the children.” They are understood to have spent a night in police custody before being hauled to court. The family were staying at Holiday World Resort, a massive complex made up of three hotels and a collection of premium apartments totalling more than 850 rooms. As well as three superior four-star hotels, the complex also boasts a 3,600 square metre sports centre with tennis, paddle and basketball courts, a seven-a-side pitch and functional training areas. Regional government sources said before today’s court judgement emergency foster families had now been found to look after the youngsters.