Irish woman arrested in Majorca for child abandonment

A Spanish police van. Picture: Manu Mielniezuk)

AN Irish woman has been arrested in Majorca on suspicion of abandoning her child during a holiday.

The 45-year-old was held at a hotel on the east of the island after allegedly leaving her five-year-old daughter alone to go drinking.

Police said the little girl had to be cared for by other tourists.

It is claimed she continued drinking despite hotel staff stopping serving her alcohol by going to a nearby supermarket to get alcohol.

A spokesman for Spain’s National Police, which made the arrest and was able to reunite the child with her father who travelled to Majorca from Ireland after being informed of the detention, said: “We have arrested an Irish woman aged 45 who was on holiday in Majorca for a crime of child abandonment.

“She left the youngster alone so she could drink alcohol. She drank beer only and the little girl was cared for by the other tourists she had got to know in the same hotel who also had a little girl.

“Those holidaymakers ended up feeding her, putting sun cream on her and buying her arm bands for the pool as well as making sure she showered and was kept clean.

The spokesman added: “She was arrested after being located in her hotel room and finally opening the door in a state of obvious drunkenness.

“The child was taken to a specialist centre until the following day when her father, who was in Ireland, arrived to take charge of her.” 

It is expected social services in Ireland will be informed about the case by their Spanish counterparts.

The hotel the woman and her child were staying in has not been named.