Girl, 4, drowned after wandering to pool

A FOUR-YEAR-OLD Irish girl drowned during a Spanish holiday at the weekend after suddenly wandering from a small children’s plastic pool into the adult-size pool, it has emerged.

The child, from Straffan, Co. Kildare, then got into difficulties and, despite desperate efforts to revive her, she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The child died at around 10.30am on Saturday at a rented villa just off Marbella’s famous Golden Mile, which is home to some of the area’s most expensive hotels and houses.

One of her two mothers – reportedly a married same-sex couple – was with the youngster at the time. Her other mother, who is said to run a successful business in Celbridge, has now flown out to be by her devastated partner’s side and make arrangements to have their daughter’s body flown back home.

Yesterday, a well-placed source said the tragedy occurred while the mother who was in Spain was talking with a couple of adults who were thought to be friends.

They said: ‘The little girl was sat playing in a small children’s plastic pool and, without her mum noticing, left it and ended up in the larger pool where she drowned.

‘Local police were the first on the scene and tried to save the youngster’s life using a defibrillator before paramedics arrived to take over.

‘They were unable to save her and she was pronounced dead at the scene.’

One local described the villa where the tragedy occurred as a four-bedroom property in sprawling grounds.

A sign outside the tree-covered driveway to the house, which cannot be seen from the public side road that runs up to the entrance from the Golden Mile, says: ‘Private, no entrance.’

A neighbour said he thought the girl’s mother had left the property and that Spaniards were now renting it.

The tragic schoolgirl was initially described as British before it emerged the Department of Foreign Affairs here was providing consular assistance.

Police have confirmed the death is being treated as accidental and have declined to provide any further details.

The villa where the tragedy occurred is sandwiched between modern gated apartment complexes with communal swimming pools which run along both sides of the Golden Mile.

The well-known road leads from the centre of Marbella to the popular resort of Puerto Banus.

News of the tragedy emerged just after a five-year-old British boy drowned while on holiday with his parents at a resort near Silves on the Portuguese Algarve.

He was thought to have been playing with his two twin siblings when he got into difficulties at around 4.30pm on Saturday. He has not been named.