Parents tried to f ly home without son after row at Majorca hotel

A BRITISH couple have been handed a suspended prison sentence for abandoning their son in Majorca following a family row.

They were stopped at Palma airport as they prepared to fly home without the teenager.

They had left him at their hotel when he refused to board a bus with them to take the flight. His three siblings were reportedly taken into care overnight while their parents were questioned by detectives.

The unidentifed couple were reunited with their children yesterday and given permission to return home after appearing before a judge and admitting wrongdoing.

They accepted a charge of child abandonment at a speedy trial at a court in the town of Inca where they were warned the crime they were accused of carried a three- year prison sentence. They were given one year suspended.

A source close to the case said: ‘The dad asked hotel reception for help saying he had to catch his airport transfer and his son was refusing to get on the bus with them.

‘The boy ran out of the hotel and disappeared as a receptionist went to help the dad. The hotel called police when they saw what had happened and while officers were on their way, the parents decided to catch the bus anyway.

‘Their son was discovered later in the morning after a police search.’

The family were not thought to be at the hotel last night and it was not clear whether they had been able to return to the UK or not.

The three-star hotel they stayed at – the Bellevue Club – is in the resort of Puerto de Alcudia.

It has nearly 1,500 apartments divided between 17 buildings.

Summarising events leading to the couple’s arrest on Wednesday, judge Catalina Mulet, said: ‘They left their son in the hotel despite the fact he now had no accommodation there and they hadn’t entrusted his care to an adult or given him the means with which to look after himself.

‘The accused were arrested the same day at Palma airport.’

Although police could not be reached for comment yesterday afternoon, the parents are understood to have been stopped near their boarding gate.

The couple have been told they will not go to jail as long as they do not reoffend in the next two years.

They were also ordered to pay costs and told they must inform the court of any change of address.

Local reports suggested the child had a minor mental illness.

‘Stopped near the boarding gate’