British girl, two, drowns in villa pool

A two-year-old British girl has drowned in a swimming pool at her mother's villa on the Costa Blanca.

Local police said Gabriela Louisa Manning fell into the pool while her mother was with the girl's twin brother inside the house 50 miles from Alicante.

A Spanish police spokeswoman said: "It appears the mother went inside the house to attend to the young boy, and when she went back outside she found the girl's body floating in the water.

"She pulled the girl from the water and immediately called the emergency services but tragically they were unable to revive her.

"Unfortunately it can take less than 30 seconds for a person to drown. The mother is understandably distraught."

The woman is understood to have been living in Spain for several years and is separated from the children's father, who is believed to live in Britain.