A Dublin father-of-two was gunned down in Spain because of a row over a toilet.

Dad John´Jock´O´Neill (41) was murdered after a bust up in a bar on the Costa del Sol.

It is believed an argument started in the toilets of Coco´s pub when a British man began banging on the door of a locked cubicle.

The spat spiralled when the man confronted a group of holiday makers from Dublin in the Benalmadena bar — and was ejected from the premises.

Tragically, Mr O´Neill tried to act as a peacemaker as the man verbally abused the Irish group.

The man returned with a gun and fired five shots, hitting Mr O´Neill in the back as his distraught girlfriend Maxine looked on.

The victim, from Coolock in Dublin, staggered from the bar and collapsed at a bus stop 50 yards away.

The group of Dubliners were in the popular tourist area ahead of a wedding this Saturday. It is believed children in the bar may also have witnessed the shooting.

Police who are now hunting for the British gunman and have raided the suspect´s home, which is in the wider Benalmadena area.

The suspect, who is understood to have criminal convictions in the UK, is now believed to be on the run.

Further details of the shocking killing emerged today.

The gunman was thrown out of the bar by security staff who warned him that “there&´s 30 of them and one of you, so do yourself a favour and go home.”

But the gunman returned to Coco´s Bar in Benalmadena, on the Costa del Sol, at 3am local time yesterday, and opened fire, shooting at least five bullets from a 38-calibre revolver as terrified drinkers dived for cover.

Plasterer O´Neill, a father of two from Bunratty Drive, Coolock, was hit in the back as he ran for the exit.

His distraught girlfriend, Maxine, suffered a panic attack as she watched paramedics battle in vain to save her loved one.

Mr O´Neill, who was at the bar with his girlfriend and others from the wedding party, died in a pool of blood by the bus stop as his friends desperately tried to get him to a hospital.

Paramedics battled to save his life but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

John O´Neill´s girlfriend and their two children were being comforted by friends this morning.

Mr O´Neill´s only involvement in the toilet cubicle row which preceded the shooting was to try to defuse the situation, it is understood.

O´Neill´s girlfriend gave a description of the gunman to the Spanish authorities who are now hunting down the killer.

Mr O´Neill, whose children are a boy aged three and a girl aged nine months, has never been in trouble with the garda and was a popular figure among his friends and neighbours.

Spanish authorities have ruled out any suggestion that the death was gang-related.

A cloud has now descended on the wedding party, who were preparing for what should have been the happiest days in the life of one of John´s close friends.

The celebration was due to take place this Saturday but the tragic events of yesterday morning have thrown the event into doubt.

A post-mortem will be carried out today at the Institute of Legal Medicine in Malaga.

The murder is being investigated by officers from the Specialist Violent Crime unit of the National Police in nearby Torremolinos.

They believe they have identified the killer, who is thought to be from Liverpool.

The initial indications were that Mr O´Neill died “as a result of a row that went too far” although “all lines of investigation were being pursued at present,” Chief Inspector Pedro Parrilla said.

One local said Mr O´Neill had been shot in the back and the gunman then fired more shots at the pub before making his getaway.

Eyewitness Luis Solero said: “I saw a man running off with blood stains on his shirt.

“He jumped over a fence and ran in the direction of the marina. He was still carrying the pistol in his hands.”

Coco´s is a large bar, popular with tourists and expats, and has a terrace offering spectacular views over the Mediterranean.

It has seating for 188 people, two pool tables and 10 plasma screen TVs.

Locals in Coolock yesterday described Mr O´Neill as “the best neighbour anyone could have wanted”.

Last night the O´Neill family, including his brother David and sister Sharon, gathered at the family home to come to terms with their loss. Family members declined to comment today.

via Dublin father shot dead in Spain ‘over toilet row’ – Republic of Ireland, Local & National – Belfasttelegraph.co.uk.

An alleged paedophile, formerly of North Shields, whose wife is accused of murdering their two children in a Spanish hotel is to appear in court.

Martin Smith, 45, is accused of a string of sex offences and failing to answer to bail.

His daughter Rebecca, five, and son Daniel, 11 months, were found dead in the Hotel Miramar in the resort of Lloret de Mar on the Costa Brava on May 18.

Their mother, Lianne Smith, 43, is being held by Spanish police on suspicion of murder.

She appeared in court and admitted asphyxiating her children with a plastic bag, Spanish court officials said.

Smith was arrested in Spain on May 7 after the family left the UK in 2007 following his initial arrest over child sex allegations.

He allegedly jumped bail while facing charges of rape of a child under 16, gross indecency with a girl under 16, indecent assault of a girl under 16 and attempted rape of a girl under 16.

Smith, who has lived at various addresses in Carlisle, was stopped by the Spanish Civil Guard in Barcelona and checks alerted officers to his wanted status in the UK.

Mrs Smith was formerly a manager at Cumbria County Council´s children´s services department but did not work directly with children.

A provisional trial date was set for November 1 on his last appearance at Carlisle Crown Court. His plea and case management hearing is due to take place at the same court from 10am on Tuesday.

via Father of children found dead in Spain faces court – National News – Peterborough Today.

The dead child found near a lake in a mountainous area of Spain has been identified as the missing five-year-old German boy, a government official confirmed in Berlin on Saturday.

The boy’s father had travelled to the Cordoba region from Dortmund to identify his son, whose body will now be examined in a post-mortem to find out how he died.

Local media reports suggest there is no sign of violence, and that it is expected that the boy, who has not been named, died of dehydration, heat exhaustion or a fall.

The boy’s 40-year-old mother notified Spanish police that he was missing on Thursday, having shown up at a petrol station in a distressed condition, acutely dehydrated and covered in scratches and bruises.

She told police she had left home in Herdecke, North Rhine-Westphalia, to drive to Spain about a week previously, but was unable to say what had happened with her son.

Police found two rucksacks – one large, one small – and several empty bottles of water near the boy’s body and are working on the theory that they suffered some kind of accident while hiking and that she left the child to go get help.

No records have been found of the pair having stayed in local hotels, and detectives believe they had been sleeping in their car, which was found on Tuesday near a religious shrine.

They had been seen on a fishing trip on Sunday, and had then asked for help on the Monday because the car had broken down.

The woman will remain in hospital until at least Monday.

via Dead boy found in Spain is missing German five-year-old – The Local.

A boat carrying at least 37 refugees, amongst them five dead, including two babies, was rescued this afternoon off the coast of Motril (Granada) by the Martitime Rescue Services and the Guardia Civil.

The boat was spotted around 4pm about 43 nautical miles to the south of Motril by a Maritime Rescue aircraft doing a routine patrol of the area.

When the rescue services arrived they found the boat practically underwater and it quickly capsized when one of the occupants stood up in the excitement of being rescued.

This resulted in the drowning of the two babies, along with three adults – two men and a woman – who got trapped beneath the boat and were unable to swim out from under it.

A member of the rescue team managed to save the life of a baby barely a year old who fell into the water and an adult who almost drowned.

Two of the refugees, a man and his baby, who was in severe shock, were transferred by helicopter to a hospital in Almería. The remaining survivors were taken to the port of Motril where they are being tended to by volunteers from the Red Cross. Four of them, including a baby about a year old, were then taken to hospital.

All of the refugees were from the Sub-Sahara, except one who was from the Maghreb.

Updates via RSOE.

Benidorm star Geoffrey Hutchings, a familiar face from stage, TV and film for four decades, has died, aged 71.

The Rada-trained star saw his career stretch from Shakespearean theatre to a string of popular dramas, and he was most recently seen in ITV1?s Benidorm.

Hutchings’s celebrated TV dramas have also included the acclaimed saga Our Friends In The North, as well as Heart Of Darkness and Made In Britain.

But his work took him through a diverse range of roles, including daytime TV dramas, popular series such as Bad Girls and last year he had a brief spell in EastEnders.

The actor, who lived in central London, died suddenly in hospital at around 8am yesterday (Thursday).

His agent Roger Charteris said: “He is thought to have died from a sudden viral infection. He was fine at lunchtime on Wednesday but he had died by Thursday morning.”

Hutchings’s latest series, the sitcom Grandma’s House written by comic Simon Amstell, is due to be screened by BBC2 this summer.

And he was due to begin filming the next series of Benidorm shortly.

The Dorchester-born actor studied French and PE at Birmingham University, later attending Rada and becoming a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1968.

His stagecraft won him an Olivier Award for best comedy performance in 1982 for his role in Poppy.

via Benidorm’s Geoffrey Hutchings dies | Mad Black Cat.

The was owned by father of the child and the attack occurred within the family home, located in the suburb of La Gallega, at 15:30 hours on Monday.

The animal will be “isolated” until a court rules on the case said a spokesman from Hostel Valle Colino district in Santa Cruz, where the pit bull is incarcerated.

via Momento 24.

Sisters Mildred Bowman and Alice Wardle lay trapped for nearly five days under fold down beds in their Benidorm apartment before dying of suffocation four years ago.

Both women’s families were offered out of court settlements by tour operator My Travel – now Thomas Cook.

And wile Alice’s family accepted, Mildred’s refused, choosing to fight on.

Earlier this year an inquest finally took place into their deaths – and Gateshead Coroner Terence Carney ruled their horrific end “could and should have been avoided”.

Mildred’s children Paul, John and Carol, finally hoped this would give them the clout to take legal action against Thomas Cook – who they believe should have done more to ensure the beds were safe.

But now they have been told by he company they are too late as applications for civil proceedings must be made within three years of the death.

“What’s the point of having an inquest if you can’t do anything about it?” said Paul, 46, of Low Fell.

“It’s as if the last four years have all been a waste of time.

“It is not about the money.

“My mum and auntie lay inside those beds suffering for almost five days and still no-one is taking responsibility for it.”

Their bid to bring a charge of manslaughter due to negligence against the hotel management was thrown out by a Spanish judge. The family are now taking civil action in Spain.

A Thomas Cook Spokesperson said: “The thoughts of us all will always be with the family of Mrs Bowman. Despite doing our utmost to try to resolve matters directly with the family and their legal representatives over a long period of time, this wasn’t possible.”

Two Thomas Cook staff were cleared of negligent manslaughter earlier this month following the death of two children in Corfu from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a faulty boiler. But now they face a retrial.

Three hotel staff were jailed for seven years.

via ChronicleLive.

Two British men have died in a hiking accident in the Spanish Pyrenees, the Foreign Office (FCO) has confirmed.

They were reported to have fallen into an ice field near the 9,000ft high (2.7km) Pico de Frondiellas in the Sallent de Gallego region.

A third male member of their party was also reported to have fallen but is understood to be uninjured.

A FCO spokeswoman said it was investigating and was in the process of informing the men´s next of kin.

The men were believed to have been hiking along a route which was covered with packed ice and snow when the accident happened.

According to the Spanish media, the men were aged between 40 and 50 and had appropriate equipment for their expedition.

The area which is in the Huesca province in north east Spain is popular with climbers during the summer, but is dangerous when snow is present.

Spanish regional authorities said the men´s bodies were recovered by mountain rescue services.

via BBC News – Two Britons die in Spanish Pyrenees hiking accident.

A British woman is being questioned by Spanish police after two of her children were found dead in a holiday resort in Spain.

Police said the children, a boy and a girl both under the age of six, were discovered in a hotel room in the coastal town of Lloret de Mar.

The British Embassy in Madrid said an inquiry had been launched into the deaths.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said it was investigating the reports.

A spokesman said: “We are in contact with the Spanish police but because the children are minors we cannot say much.

“We believe the mother has been arrested. There is an ongoing investigation.”

Police were called to the four-star Hotel Miramar, located on the Costa Brava coast 47 miles (75km) north of Barcelona, at about 2pm local time.

A Girona police spokesman said: “At around 3.53pm, the mossos de la comissaria de Blanes (local police) received a note from the local police of Lloret de Mar that the bodies of two minors had been found at a hotel.

“When the officers arrived at the scene they found two children inside a room at a hotel.

“Girona Police are investigating the death of the two children. The police have detained the mother of the minors to find out what happened.”

Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported that the children's mother phoned police, who were unable to revive them.

Embassy staff said they were trying to establish whether the family was on holiday in Spain or living in the country.

Lloret de Mar is a popular destination for British holidaymakers.

A spokesman for travel association Abta said: “It's very popular with the British. It's a very traditional Spanish resort, similar to Benidorm and Torremolinos.”

via BBC News – Two British children found dead in Spain.

Janet Kerrigan´s 28-year-old lad David tripped in his hotel and hit his head in the tumble after a night out in Spanish resort Benidorm.

The security guard was rushed to hospital in Alicante – where medics found he had suffered a brain haemorrhage.

Last night devastated Janet, 47, revealed he´d spent just one night in the Costa Blanca town when the freak accident happened. And she sobbed as she recalled her last words to David before he set off on the two-week break with a pal were “be careful”.

She said: “It´s every mother´s worst nightmare.

“David was such a wonderful, joking, playful son. I can´t believe he´s gone.

“The last time I spoke to him I told him, ´You look after yourself, you be careful.´

“We never expected this to happen. I couldn´t believe it when we got the call to say there had been an accident.”

David´s grieving sister Tracey – who called her brother her “soulmate” – caught the next available flight to Spain after the accident last month.

But Janet, who had never been abroad, suffered an agonising wait before she could travel while her passport application was processed.

She said: “When I arrived at the hospital, I was shocked to see David. He was full of tubes, he looked so helpless.”

David, of Hamilton, spent two weeks in a coma before he lost his fight for life earlier this month. And grieving Janet and Tracey had to borrow money to fly out to bring David´s body home as he did not have any travel insurance. His funeral was held last Friday.

Tracey, 26, said: “David was my soulmate. We had the same group of friends so we hung out together all the time. I feel like I´ve lost my best friend.

“We also had to borrow money to pay for our flights out there to bring him home. It´s been terrible.”

Janet added: “David had his whole life in front of him. I feel so lost without him.

“His best friend had asked him to be a godfather to their wee baby. He was proud of that.”

scottish-sun@the-sun.co.uk

via Hols Scot killed in fall at hotel | The Sun |Home Scotland|Scottish News.