British couple arrested after ‘leaving young kids in hotel’ as baby ‘tests positive for drugs’

The children were taken into temporary care

According to reports, the pair have been held after the youngest of the children, a baby just six months old, tested positive for cocaine.

Local media in Spain have reported that the couple have been held in the early hours of Thursday morning.

It is also reported that the children allegedly involved, aged four, two and six months, have now been taken into temporary social services care.

By sources close to the ongoing investigation, the situation that the youngsters were found in was described as “worrying”, saying the hotel room they were in was in a mess and the eldest child was looking after the others.

The regional government has taken the children

According to sources, the couple 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.

The children are understood to have been taken to Malaga's Materno Infantil Hospital for a check-up, although the regional Junta de Andalucia government has taken temporary charge of them.

“A British man aged 41 and a woman aged 28 have been held on suspicion of a crime of child abandonment”, a spokesman for Spain’s National Police said.

“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.”

However, local police have refused to comment on local reports that the baby tested positive for cocaine.

Meanwhile, it is expected the couple will be held in police custody overnight before being taken to court tomorrow for a first hearing before a judge, however this has not been confirmed yet.